:puts on flame retardant pants:
it looks like you posed three questions. one in the topic title, two at the end of your post.
1. are str's at the root of housing issues? that's going to depend on the market/neighborhood. not useful to generalize.
2. are strs csusing problems in resort towns & desirable vacation areas? yes absolutely
3. should str's be limited in some way? if it's creating issues yes.
here's my viewpoint and experience:
during high season str guests are most definitely nuisance in the beach neighborhood I live in. They steal stupid stuff like people's flip flops. they party late into the night on weekdays. they behave as if residents are there solely to facilitate their good time and buttonhole them for information and directions when they're out walking their pets. they tailgate at the beach access because the hosts are too cheap to pay the association dues. they trespass on resident's property to fish and sightsee then become belligerent when asked to leave. etc etc etc.
It really does degrade the character of the neighborhood and the experience of living here during the high season. I think it's a numbers issue; there are so many of them even if it's one out of a hundred problematic guests it means issues weekly. since the investors don't live in the neighborhood they don't have to live with the issues so they don't care.
I'm also an str owner who been on the receiving end of resentment over the coming and going of strangers in a neighborhood.
I think this is a classic example of the need to balance the rights of property owners with the common good. too much str can destroy a neighborhood, living through it. As a result I'm in favor of reasonable limits.
