Kudos to the state of Arizona State for proving that innovative problem solving is alive and well in the Grand Canyon State.
This past week, Governor Ducey signed into law landmark legislation that creates a blueprint for how all states should handle home sharing platforms such as HomeAway and Airbnb. Not willing to rely on out-of-date, arcane regulation, created long before the first .com, Arizona chose the path of regulatory and legislative disruption. The result was Senate Bill 1350.
[pullquote]This bill protects and ensures that Arizona citizens everywhere in the state can benefit from the home sharing and short-term rental economy.[/pullquote]
This bill protects and ensures that Arizona citizens everywhere in the state can benefit from the home sharing and short-term rental economy.
We thank Governor Ducey and the Arizona legislature for approving this balanced solution that maintains the rights of Arizona property owners, protects consumers, and delivers tax benefits to the entire state.
SB 1350 establishes a framework for the state to benefit from the short term rental economy. It requires HomeAway, Airbnb, and others to register with the state as an “online lodging marketplace” and then collect local taxes from hosts and guests. The taxes collected then go toward a Hospitality Studies Scholarship Fund.
SB 1350 maintains local municipalities’ power to enforce public health and safety, noise/nuisance and other local ordinances that relate to residential property. Finally, SB 1350 avoids forcing HomeAway, Airbnb, and others to share information about its listings or hosts to the state — thus protecting the privacy of home sharing users.
For too long, the incumbent lodging industries have focused on protecting their bottom lines by creating hypothetical issues and theoretical concerns with home sharing platforms. Arizona rose above this noise. Arizona has sifted through the pile of misinformation and scare tactics and has done what is best for all Arizonans — not a small handful of large legacy companies.
Nationwide, home sharing has enabled homeowners to offset costs and provided travelers with additional lodging choices that could be more convenient and cost effective than hotels — pumping more money into local economies.
The citizens of Arizona can now rely on this new law that makes home sharing a permanent reality across the state — de-void of bureaucratic overreach and short-sightedness. We thank Arizona for signing SB 1350 into law and show the entire country a shining example of innovative leadership.