Short-term rental advocates tout impact on Arizona economy

PHOENIX — Arizonans for Responsible Tourism gathered with short-term rental hosts at the Arizona Capitol on Thursday to praise the impact on the economy.

Co-founder of Arizonans Responsible for Tourism John Hildebrand said vacation rentals bring in about $500 million in tax revenue annually for state and local governments and support more than 75,000 jobs, according to a 2022 report.

While a 2016 state law prevents limitations on how many short-term rentals can exist, Dana Avellar, a real estate agent for DPR Realty who owns a vacation rental, said there are some homeowners associations that would like to limit how many short-term rentals can exist in a neighborhood.

“There were some rules that were going through on HOAs to restrict the percentage of rentals available. That’s still going on in various HOAs whether it’s condos or homes,” Avellar said.

She believes any homeowner who wants to rent out their property deserves the right to because it’s a way to generate passive income. She said people invest in real estate and short-term rentals to make extra income and build wealth.

However, she does support policies to promote responsible vacation rentals, so they don’t disturb their neighbors. “We don’t want big parties or things that are disruptive to our neighbors. We want to be good citizens,” Avellar said.

She said there are many reasons someone may need to rent out their property too. Sometimes military members have to move suddenly and may not be ready to sell but still need to make money. Or Avellar said sometimes people have a medical emergency and need to move quickly to get treatment, so they’ll rent somewhere else temporarily.

Mike Colburn is a host, property manager and handyman who primarily serves vacation rentals in the Valley. He owns a property in Prescott that he rents out during parts of the year and enjoys with his family when the Valley gets too hot. Colburn admits a cap on rental properties would help his business because it would create less competition; however, he’s in favor of a free market and believes the short-term rental market will stabilize itself. South Scottsdale is over saturated with vacation rentals according to Colburn but added they won’t all survive.

“People are selling, people are getting out because there’s too much competition and they don’t know how to deal with it. So, I figure the market actually creates its own caps,” Colburn said.

Colburn said while his rental property is a long-term investment, he knows other property owners in the Phoenix area who make a living on vacation rentals.

The short-term rental industry also creates jobs for cleaners, property managers and maintenance workers. Colburn said his cleaners for his short-term rental make $10,000 a year from him and that’s only one property.

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