Peter Schorsch
For five days in late July, Philadelphia re-emerged as the center of the American political world as the host of the Democratic National Convention. Typically when a city is asked to suddenly expand its capacity by five percent to handle a massive influx of visitors – as was the case with the City of Brotherly Love – chaos ensues.
Yet during my stay at the convention – where I was privileged to speak and represent the Sunshine State – we heard none of the usual complaints about having to commute an hour-plus from the nearest available hotel. Philly managed to house nearly all 50,000 visitors within their corporate limits, ensuring those tourist dollars allocated for lodging, food and attractions would directly benefit local constituents and merchants. It was a resounding and unprecedented success, one that could not have been pulled off without the city’s embrace of the home sharing industry, which allowed Philadelphians with an extra room or even a couch to rent out space to visitors during the convention.
I’ve long recognized the opportunity presented by home sharing and other disruptive technologies to boost tourism and spur economic development for my constituents in Tallahassee. In July, I alongside our City Commission and business community worked to repeal our business license tax, removing the primary obstacle identified by Tallahasseeans who sought to make a few extra bucks by sharing their homes, typically through the Airbnb platform. We pursued this policy as part of an effort to support the entrepreneurial instincts of my community while enhancing Tallahassee’s burgeoning status as a welcoming hub for businesses and tourists alike.
According to Airbnb’s numbers, our mission is succeeding. We’ve welcomed over 7,000 people to Tallahassee in the past calendar year through Airbnb. Our 300 citizens who host through Airbnb are pocketing $2,300 a year on average in additional income – money that they can use to re-invest in our community, pay their mortgages or simply stow away for their children’s future schooling. Nearly all of them are sharing their primary residence, and 43 percent of them are simply sharing an extra room in their homes.
I have found this type of unique platform – with the ability to expand and contract based on demand – to be particularly fruitful for a city like Tallahassee where two large public universities and a community college account for such an important component of our local identity and economy. We experience massive influxes of visitors for Florida A&M and Florida State football games, Homecoming, annual reunions, and graduation, to name a few. The flexibility of home sharing allows us to accommodate anyone who wants to visit even when hotels sell out, ensuring that their lodging dollars stay right here within our community.
While critics claim that short-term rentals threaten the health of the hotel industry, our experience in North Florida has proven otherwise. In 2015, as Airbnb visits to Tallahassee grew by 171 percent, hotel occupancy rates actually rose to record rates. Establishing a business and tourist friendly environment requires flexibility to meet the needs of all prospective visitors. It ensures greater economic opportunities for everyone, even those perceived to be in competition.
In Tallahassee, we’ve taken full advantage of the innovative and economic power of home sharing, but this is a movement that can and should spread statewide. A rising tide lifts all boats, and we all benefit at a local level when our state as a whole presents itself as uniformly pro-business and pro-innovation.
For example, in the past year alone, a startling 1.25 million people have visited the Sunshine State via Airbnb, a number sure to rise as home sharing increases in awareness and popularity. From the Panhandle to Key West and everywhere in between, we have a historic opportunity to enact fair home sharing rules and send a message that Florida is open for business. Let’s empower these types of innovative industries with the capacity to enhance our State’s well-deserved status as a truly global destination.
Andrew D. Gillum is the Mayor of the City of Tallahassee, Florida.
