STRs Licensing in Denver - Primary Residence Rule

[Sid Payne]

I am looking to help out with an STR in Denver proper. In reading about the licensing, the first thing I saw was this:

"Property owners and long-term renters are allowed to apply for an STR license for their primary residence."

If this is the case, are most of the houses on VRBO not licensed? I have a hard time believing these are all folks who rent out their primary residence.

Has anyone figured out how to manage this without it being a primary residence? I did see that one thing you can do is turn it into a commercial property/license but that seems cost prohibitive due to most likely having to install sprinkler systems and become ADA accessible.

It seem unfortunate that Denver is missing out on all the tax revenue that could be generated by a strong STR market.

Any ideas you folks have would be greatly appreciated,
Sid