COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Chamber of Commerce met Wednesday to discuss House Bill 563, which would limit legislative power municipalities have over rental properties, such as VRBO and AirBNBs.
Three short-term rental property owners said they are satisfied with owning short-term rentals in Central Ohio.
Jeff Smith, who owns two Airbnbs said there are many benefits.
“The financial benefits, obviously of having an Airbnb, as well as just running your own small business, interacting with visitors, guests,” Smith said.
“I wanted to quit my corporate job, didn't like that I had to wear a suit every single day,” said Josiah Myers, CEO/Founder of Airriva, a company that manages short-term rentals in 10 cities.
AirDNA, a research site that looks at data from Airbnb, says there are more than 1,600 short-term rental properties across Central Ohio. In the last quarter, AirDNA says the market grew by 7%.
“Ohio State, Nationwide, all the hospitals bring a huge amount of people that are transients; they're staying for short-term travel, they're needing short-term places,” said Erich Schick, who owns three AirBNBs and manages another 47.
So how are short-term rentals regulated? In July of 2018, Columbus City Council passed an ordinance, requiring background checks for short-term rental hosts. In 2019, the ordinance was updated to add re-assessing short-term rental regulations every two years.
The three short-term rental owners 10TV spoke with said they've had very few issues since they have owned their properties.
“It really starts with the inquiry process before you accept the guest. Just asking certain questions (like) ‘How many guests are you bringing?’ ‘Will you have any guests?’ ‘Why are you here?’ ‘Where are you coming from?’” Schick said.
According to AirDNA, the average cost of a rental per night in Central Ohio is $143.
A man was shot at an Airbnb while attending a birthday party in Franklinton in December. 10TV reached out to Columbus Police to ask about crimes at short-term rentals. They said they don't keep track of numbers specific to those kinds of properties. They also said they do not have any policies specific to short-term rentals, as they are private businesses.