BusinessNap 79 Ryeburn Drive, Ottawa, Ontario

BusinessNap is a directory listings company near Ottawa, ON. Our objective is to provide small businesses with an alternative place to advertise a business.

BusinessNap Directory Listings 76 Ryeburn Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1H5 Open Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Phone: (613) 912-9239 Email Us: admin@businessnap.info Website: https://businessnap.info/ Province: Ontario

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Free online listings can be extremely helpful to businesses of all kinds. They can make outstanding and effective Ottawa business marketing tools. Local citations are helpful as well. They can provide potential customers with business information that's reliable and exhaustive. These citations, in brief, provide people with useful business details including website information, street addresses, and telephone numbers. N.A.P. is a vital component of local SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It's short for name, address, and finally, phone number. If you want your business to soar in organic search results, N.A.P. assistance can be a beautiful thing. Most listing websites will allow you to link back to your website, you should not overlook that benefit. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. if you are not informed about backlinks you should read more about Backlinks, How They Can Help? Hiring a credible full-service digital marketing agency can be a terrific idea for businesses that want to manage their Ottawa business marketing requirements. if you are a small company and you do not have the financial resources to hire a marketing person then, free listings should be your starting point. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced site owner or new to owning a website, Citations and listings are both invaluable parts of strong online marketing. Businesses should never dismiss the value of both of these things. Our Social Media Channels and External Blogs Links External Blogs | FaceBook | Pinterest | Google My Business | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Cocoa Village Amphitheater

Situated in notable Cocoa Village the Riverfront Park, the amphitheater in mix, with Lee Wenner and Taylor Parks, gives people in general perpetual access to about 10 sections of land of prime riverfront arrive decisively amidst downtown Cocoa. Run, play and unwind while you appreciate the excellent perspectives at Riverfront Park.   Many events take place at the Cocoa Village amphitheater in the spacious Riverfront Park. Lots of events including live concerts light up the amphitheater including a big Fourth of July fireworks and concert with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra. Kids play in the huge man-made fountain all summer long. [caption id="attachment_821" align="alignnone" width="300"] Water fountain play area for kids[/caption] Historic Cocoa Village is among the Space Coast's most well-known destinations. This town has a colonial flavor wherever your kids are going to have a lot of fun.   There's something for everybody within this historic spot. The remodeled grounds starts at the back of the Cocoa Civic Center and Porcher House and merges flawlessly with Taylor Park along Delannoy Avenue. [caption id="attachment_822" align="alignnone" width="800"] Walking along the riverside Cocoa Village amphitheater[/caption] A great deal of entirely free parking can be found on the street and in several smaller lots about town. It makes it east to attend concerts at the Cocoa Village Amphitheater. Facilities

• Sweeping green park
• Playground area
• Amphitheater, for outdoor concerts and other events facing the beautiful Indian River
• Boardwalk
• Spacious covered pavilions
• Areas for fishing, water sports and boat launching
• Bathrooms
• Water playground

[caption id="attachment_825" align="alignnone" width="800"] Cocoa Riverfront park[/caption]   http://www.cocoabeachvacationhome.com/index.php/2016/12/31/cocoa-village-amphitheater/amp/

Cherie Down Park Beach Cape Canaveral YouTube

Cherie Down Park Beach Cape Canaveral YouTube Cherie Down Park Cape Canaveral. If your preference is to stay away from the big crows and just enjoy a day at the beach with your family and kids, then this is the place for you. Plenty of free parking as well as bathrooms and showers. Free parking spaces are also available on the side streets adjacent to the beach south of the park. Depending on the time of day you can see the cruise ships going out to sea. Looking for a place to stay on your visit? http://ift.tt/2k4Unm1

Cherie Down Park Beach Cape Canaveral YouTube

Travel Advice To Improve Your Vacation Experience

A link to the original article is below.

There you are, losing sleep, worrying about your next vacation. It seems like a lot of trouble to go through, but it’s not if you do it right. The traveling tips in this article will reduce your stress when traveling.

You should not take any extra belongings that are worth a considerable amount money. Having valuable items with you on a trip is just asking to have them lost or stolen.

When you are in an unfamiliar area, be on guard for criminals acting as officials such as law enforcement. Never hand over your original passport, as you might not get it back. If you are made to go to an office, do so by foot. Never, under any circumstances, get in a car with an unknown local.

The type of digital camera you take on your trip should be dependent on the trip you are taking. If you’re going backpacking, a camera with a rechargeable battery might not be the best idea. You also want to pick out something that will focus almost immediately.

When you are traveling in an airplane, it’s a good idea to wear slip on shoes that are light and comfortable. You might have to take them off quickly for security checks. Your level of comfort is crucial. Do not worry about serious foot support; you will be doing a lot more sitting than walking when you travel by air. The best shoes for flying might well be sandals or flip-flops.

Keep your business card or some identifying information from your hotel when venturing out. In the event that you get lost while meandering about, this info will help you find your way when using a taxi or other service. This simple precaution goes a long way to make up for whatever you lack in speaking the local language.

Credit Card Companies

When traveling abroad, it is a good idea to find out what kind of insurance coverage you are already offered by your credit card companies. For example, some credit card companies cover their customers for flights that are cancelled, but have been charged to their credit cards. It’s worth doing a little research before you depart.

When packing light for a long trip, take a rain coat that has a soft lining. The weather could be tumultuous, wherever you go. A rain coat has a few other helpful uses as well. For example, it makes a great windbreaker during the coldest weather, yet a comfortable bath robe while you’re staying at the hotel.

For most people, staying at a fancy hotel is not an option. If you aren’t happy with your hotel, take along a doorstop. It can be wedged under the door overnight, along with the chain and lock. It is almost impossible to enter a room that has a doorstop placed beneath the door.

Bring a few cookies sheets with you when going on a road trip in which your children will be with you. They can be used to make flat surfaces for playing cards or a surface for coloring books. You can even bring magnetic letters, numbers or shapes for the little ones for educational fun.

As soon as you can, find out if you need a visa for entry to the country that you plan to visit. Sometimes visas can take a long time to process so it is best to apply for one a long time before you are due to travel. If you do not have a visa and your destination requires it, then you will not be able to enter.

When taking a long plane trip, bring some edible snacks in your bag. Fresh snacks can include apples, strawberries or grapes, and will provide a welcome change from the airplane meals that weigh you down. You will save lots of money by doing this too.

Bank Atm

Avoid having to exchange currency with a bank when you travel to a different country. You can get a better exchange rate at home. Use a bank ATM whenever possible. If you are able to use a bank ATM machine, you will be able to find a more affordable exchange rate and less fees.

Don’t forget your prescriptions! You may forget to get refills or forget your pills altogether. It may be hard to get medicine in other countries.

Make certain the clock radio in your hotel room works before you go to sleep. You can’t be sure when it’s set to go off, and you don’t need to be awakened late at night.

Travel using a bus to avoid hefty baggage fees. Although buses have small fees for over-sized bags and excess weight, they have a much higher baggage allowance than any airline. There are a number of advantages to taking the bus. For example, in addition to the standard baggage you’d bring on your trip, you can also take large parcels.

The information from this article can help you have an enjoyable trip. Put these skills in practice and you will be having fun in no time. Don’t lose sleep. Get prepared to leave, instead.

http://beijingxindai.com/travel-advice-to-improve-your-vacation-experience/

Thanks Airbnb! Homestay is now part of the establishment

Jan 23, 2017

Airbnb might be coming under growing pressure in major cities but the market for vacation rentals and homestays is anything but dead. Sally White reports

Airbnb founder Brian Chesky may not like references to ‘disruption’ – it sends out too many negative signals – but more of whatever-it-is will be a major feature on the 2017 travel scene. That is to go by his year-end Twitter tweets. And where Airbnb goes, experience has shown, there will be a large number of clones.
Airbnb is already into trips. Next could come flights. Chesky responded positively in his Twitter session to calls for Airbnb to offer loyalty programmes, its own properties, add a luxury category, formalise quality control, give more virtual assistance, a concierge system, cater for group travel and add food to come along with the rental. Overall there will be more marketing, and with growing regulatory pressure in the west, geographically, there will be a ‘big push’ into China.
In Asia, the early stage of development of the modern travel industry leaves plenty of room for growth in the market for Airbnb and the like with no protests. In China, nearly 1 million guests have already arrived at Airbnb listings. The company’s 2016 target was 100,000 listings. To push for faster growth it is increasing staff numbers ten-fold over the next two years to 300-plus and doubling its investment there.
The company recently expanded to Cuba and is now the largest accommodation provider in the country, according to Geekwire. And about a quarter to a third of all people who travelled to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics or World Cup stayed in an Airbnb because all the hotels were full.
Always seeing the upside, two years ago Chesky told McKinsey Consultants that: “It means that people all over a city, in 60 seconds, can become micro-entrepreneurs”. Now it has over 2 million listings in 34,000 cities and 191 countries. But, and this is a big but, in 2017 there is every sign that resistance to growth of alternative accommodation will escalate.

In 2017 there is every sign that resistance to growth of alternative accommodation will escalate

Airbnb continues to be accused of contributing to rising rental prices in cities, which have relatively low numbers of suitable properties. Although the company claims to be doing its best to just be a platform for hosts and guests to do business, and thus to have no impact on local cities, the reality has been somewhat different with professional landlords and owners of other properties, like hostels, flocking to use the platform to reach a wider number of customers – and boost rental yields in doing so. As the Financial Times (FT) reported in December: “Rents on ‘Airbnb buy-to-let’ properties are often cheaper than a hotel room, but much higher than the equivalent daily rent landlords could charge a longer term tenant’.
The result is that from this year in London landlords using Airbnb will only be able to let properties for longer than 90 days if they get permission from their local council in the form of a licence to do so.
In a letter sent out to UK hosts a few weeks ago Airbnb said: “We want to help ensure that home-sharing grows responsibly and sustainably, and makes London’s communities stronger. That is why we are introducing a change to our platform that will create new and automated limits ….. ”
A wary eye
Elsewhere, the alternative rental industry is keeping a wary eye on other major western cities. Despite a strong fight from Airbnb, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors opted for one of the most stringent restrictions on short-term rentals in the US. It barred hosts from having paying guests in a room, house or entire apartment for more than 60 days a year.
In Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona, vacation apartments and the agencies that market them are being categorised as the source of housing crises! As the FT reports in December, a group of millionaire investors and owners of large hotels had won a series of battles to tighten French laws governing the online short-term home rentals. This is a major new challenge to Airbnb and its peers in the second-largest market.
The lobby group, which includes companies such as Best Western and prominent French businessmen such as Philippe Villin, has convinced parliamentarians to vote to toughen tax rules and make it harder for users to avoid tax on rental income.
“The rules are designed effectively to end professional Airbnb rentals in France. Paris City Hall has estimated 60 to 70% of Airbnb’s accommodations in Paris contravene the laws and are rented for more than 120 days, although Airbnb maintains this is an overestimation,” said the FT.
While the objectors say they are targeting ‘professional’ landlords who are renting out properties on a commercial scale, everyone is, of course, hit.
Increasing PR attacks have been a major factor in a change of strategy at Airbnb when it comes to dealing with official blocks on its growth. Bowing to pressure from regulators across a range of its biggest markets, it is now agreeing to restrictions that it previously fought hard against. Now, the company has started limiting hosts in New York and San Francisco to one listing only, and in London and Amsterdam Airbnb it prevents hosts from exceeding legal limits on annual rental.
Here to stay
Unfairly, its vast size (estimated to worth $30 billion) means that it is always Airbnb that is named by anti-private rental lobbies. Yet its very success is pulling in competitors by the handful and home-stay is now established as a travel sector. Just a few of the 24 mentioned by Crunchbase are HomeAway, FlipKey, Flat4Day and Couchsurfing. Conde Nast Traveler’s list includes OneFineStay and Cancelon. Every country seems to be growing its niche version. Even established hotel chains are recognising they might have been missing a marketing. Wyndham, which has for decades had an established vacation rentals presence in the European market, is one. Kelly McGuire, Vice President, Advanced Analytics, Wyndham Destination Network, for example, says that Airbnb has opened up a whole new market for the group in the US. “Airbnb did us a favour by making our Amercian customers aware that this sort of travel exists,” she says.

Its very success is pulling in competitors by the handful and home-stay is now established as a travel sector

Elsewhere, its acceptance is indicated by the moves by Expedia (HomeAway’s owner) to combine it with its overall offer. It has begun integrating HomeAway listings into Expedia, and is marketing these agressively. Depending on which kind of trip is being booked, Expedia will display a different array of results. Someone going to New York alone for a night, probably on a business trip, will see Expedia recommendations that are hotel-heavy. But a week-long trip, for a bunch of people is likely to trigger entire home-stay listings.
There is no fighting it, home rental may be disruptive but it’s now part of the establishment!

http://www.eyefortravel.com/revenue-and-data-management/thanks-airbnb-homestay-now-part-establishment

REALTORS WANT SHORT-TERM RENTALS THROUGHOUT COUNTY

anuary 23, 2017 at 6:00 am |

By LYNNETTE HINTZE Daily Inter Lake

A local Realtor group has proposed a zoning text amendment that would allow short-term rental housing throughout Flathead County.

The Northwest Montana Association of Realtors is asking the county to change zoning regulations to add short-term rentals as a conditional use in agricultural and residential zones throughout the county, as well as in areas that have their own zoning districts, including Little Bitterroot Lake, West Valley, Rogers Lake, Ashley Lake, Labrant/Lindsey Lane, North Fork and Lakeside.

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal at its Feb. 8 meeting. The Planning Board will make a recommendation and forward it to the county commissioners for a second public hearing and final decision.

If approved, the short-term rentals would be allowed with an approved administrative conditional-use permit issued by county Zoning Administrator Mark Mussman, who is also the county planning director.

Erica Wirtala, government affairs director for the Realtor association, said the proposal is similar to the city of Kalispell’s recently approved regulations for short-term rentals, except the county’s version won’t have a cap on the number of homes that can be rented for less than 30 days.

Vacation rentals have become increasingly popular in the Flathead Valley and other visitor destinations with the proliferation of websites such as VRBO and Airbnb.

Because the county does not issue building permits and thus has no building inspector, short-term rental homes would be inspected by the fire chief for the location where the home is located, Wirtala said.

There could be instances when the county Board of Adjustment would be asked to consider approving a short-term rental, she said. For example, the county has jurisdiction over the north half of Whitefish Lake and in some situations there could be a proposed short-term rental for a home that shares a dock with an adjoining private residence. If facilities don’t meet the parking or septic requirements, the Board of Adjustment may review those applications as well.

“An administrative conditional-use permit is revocable,” Wirtala pointed out. “If you have significant violations of the permit or [there are complaints of] disturbing the peace, it goes to the County Attorney’s Office and they would issue a cease-and-desist order.”

Neighbors within 150 feet of the proposed short-term rental would be notified as part of the public notification process. The Planning Office would complete a staff report for each application.

“Realtors are supportive of this” text amendment, Wirtala said. “There probably will be some push-back, and I welcome public comment on this.”

Mussman met with the association’s government affairs committee last fall and told Realtors the short-term rental issue has been on the Planning Board’s list of issues to consider for some time, Wirtala said.

“When you open up the county zoning guide and don’t see short-term in either permitted or conditional uses, then it’s an illegal use,” she noted. “This is to address this situation. We feel we are trying to right a wrong. This gives people some accountability.”

The Planning Board meets at 6 p.m. Feb. 8 in the second-floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/article/20170123/ARTICLE/170129945

Why short-term rental owners are pushing back on city crackdowns

Advertise your Hermosa Beach home as a short-term vacation rental and the warning letters are likely to arrive swiftly at the address.

Criminal charges and a $2,500 fine — that quickly doubles, then triples — will follow if those warnings aren’t heeded.

Hermosa Beach isn’t the only South Bay city to declare war on homeowners who rent out units to vacationers willing to pay top dollar to stay at the beach.

Officials in Rancho Palos Verdes recently copied Hermosa Beach’s short-term rental law and Redondo Beach is prosecuting a few residents who violated its ban. Manhattan Beach banned the practice in 2015 and El Segundo, though not adopting an ordinance yet, responds to complaints on a case-by-case basis.

Short-term vacation rentals, cities say, undermine community cohesiveness and deplete their housing markets.

But not only does the state Coastal Commission say such ordinances violate homeowners’ rights, some residents are fighting back in court.

CRIMINAL LANDLORDS?

Hermosa Beach City Attorney Michael Jenkins said six criminal cases citywide are pending in court. Two of them, involving owners of neighboring beachfront properties on The Strand, say they’ve been unfairly criminally targeted and fined without due process.

On Jan. 12 in Torrance Superior Court, attorney Pat Carey argued on behalf of the Strand residents against city prosecutors. He sought to quash the complaint on the grounds that it violated the city’s own policies regarding code-enforcement reviews.

“My client received a citation. He requested an administrative hearing. He did not get that administrative hearing,” Carey told the judge. “They issued another citation. He again requested an administrative hearing. He did not get that administrative hearing and he gets another citation.

“Now he finds himself in criminal court without having due process. (The prosecution) has to prove (my client’s) priors just like in a DUI case.”

Attorney Sydne Michel, arguing on behalf of Hermosa Beach, said online ads depicting the homes at 67 and 68 The Strand for vacation rentals were in direct violation of the city’s Municipal Code, which does not allow private home rentals for less than 30 days at a time.

But Judge George Bird questioned the merit of the city’s criminal case.

“Whether there’s been one, two or three letters sent — what makes you believe you can prove there was a violation? There’s never been an adjudication by any tribunal,” Bird said. “Would you characterize those as violations? Or allegations? Or complaints? There has been no determination by any standard that, in fact, there were violations. It’s a mere suspicion or allegation.”

Bird said he was troubled by the vagueness of how the city defines “violations” but felt the cases should be decided by an appellate court panel.

“I think Mr. Carey makes a good argument regarding the homeowner that requests a hearing and is denied a hearing,” Bird said.

TAILORED APPROACH SOUGHT

Short-term rentals advertised on such sites as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and Roomorama bypass tax codes and sometimes alarm neighbors when vacationers have loud parties and display bad behavior.

They also can undermine rent-control laws by providing financial incentive for owners to evict residents so they can instead draw in vacationers, according to a group of Los Angeles residents called Community Against Profit, which is pushing for aggressive short-term rental prohibitions in rent-controlled units.

But Coastal Commission officials encourage cities to work with them on a tailored approach to the issue. They advocate municipal limits on the number of days each year a unit can be rented, house rules, tax payments and other restrictions.

“The commission has found that vacation rental prohibitions unduly limit public recreational access opportunities inconsistent with the Coastal Act,” Commission Chairman Steve Kinsey wrote in a December open letter to community planners. “However, in situations where a community already provides an ample supply of vacation rentals and where further proliferation of vacation rentals would impair community character or other coastal resources, restrictions may be appropriate.”

AIRBNB ‘COMMITTED’ TO COMPROMISE

Similarly, vacation-rental websites seek compromise.

“Airbnb helps ordinary people by allowing them to use their house — typically their greatest expense — to generate supplemental income to pay for costs like food, rent, education for their children,” said Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty. “We are committed to working with communities to craft reasonable home-sharing rules which make neighborhoods better places to live, work and visit.”

But Hermosa Beach leaders weren’t swayed by pleas to impose softer regulations. Despite direct appeals from the Coastal Commission, they unanimously decided to outlaw short-term vacation rentals. To enforce the ban, they allocated roughly a $200,000 increase in the city’s annual code-enforcement budget to handle the cases and hired a San Francisco company, Host Compliance, to monitor websites for vacation rental listings in the city.

“(Warning letters) will establish the ‘legal notice’ to property owners,” Community Development Director Ken Robertson wrote in a memo when the council was deciding the matter in May. “A one-month grace period between the dates of the notice before referring the case to the prosecutor would be prudent. ... We would likely prioritize cases regarding properties that generate the most complaints. The number one goal is deterrence.”

EFFECTS ON RENT CONTROL

Lucy Han, a Playa del Rey member of Community Against Profit, appreciates the tough stance cities like Hermosa Beach have taken and hopes Los Angeles will follow in its footsteps. But she doesn’t believe criminal charges will hold up in court. Community Against Profit is primarily concerned with how the rentals undermine rent-control laws.

Ideally, Han said, sites such as Airbnb would require landlords to provide municipal registration numbers proving they are in compliance with their local laws.

“But I don’t think it will happen,” she said. “Our area is all rent-controlled tenants, and I want to make sure that’s enforceable. Airbnb’s been listing rent-controlled units. They list everybody. They’re a $40 billion company.”

Han said routine administrative fines don’t deter the rentals because the hosts make such a large profit and criminal charges won’t stick. The group recommends a spectrum of enforcement options.

“These hosts are so sneaky, you’ve got to make the penalties really hurt them,” Han said. “We say fine them 10 times the daily rate” of their unit.

“The cities, the people that write the ordinances, aren’t on ground zero. We are,” she said. “We have one neighbor who was cited several times, and they still have their ads up. They don’t care.”

The group recommends the use of companies to seek out violators online and wants Los Angeles to accept evidence submitted by neighbors to back up overwhelmed city workers.

“We’re trying to make sure there are enough deterrents in place because the city doesn’t have the resources,” Han said. “This is a relatively new thing. Everyone’s kind of a pioneer. It’s really going to be hard to reign it back in once you open the floodgates.”

Origanal story

http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-and-politics/20170121/why-short-term-rental-owners-are-pushing-back-on-city-crackdowns

Cocoa Riverfront Park

This 10 acres Cocoa riverfront park is right next to Historic Cocoa Village's restaurants and shops! They provide restrooms, a sand volleyball court, huge, majestic oaks tree for shade and a kids' playground. There is a fantastic ground level cascading fountain for kids - and big "kids"-  to run through and cool off. The park has many beautiful shady areas, including a covered pavilion walkway around the open-air amphitheater where there are sometimes performances.

Riverfront Park Cocoa[/caption] There's always a fun event or festival going on and many summertime activities including monthly Friday kids' movie nights on the grass in the remarkable amphitheater - and incredible fireworks and concert on July 4th! Lots of music events throughout the year! There is also an extensive riverfront boardwalk that connects to Lee Wenner Park, which is predominantly a fishing spot, marina/boat ramp area.

Vacation rental official discusses proposed MO legislation

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A screenshot of HomeAway.com for Lake of the Ozarks listings. PHOTO PROVIDED
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Posted Jan 20, 2017 at 12:00 PM
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According to Curtis, HomeAway is supportive of recently filed bills in the Missouri General Assembly that seek to create "guardrails for regulations" at the state level as basis for creating a standard framework for political subdivisions to regulate the industry in their communities.

By Lake Sunnewsroom@lakesunonline.com
As bills on vacation rentals were filed at the start of the legislative session and in the wake of a private local meeting hosted by Expedia/HomeAway last week and previous controversy surrounding the classification and regulation of vacation rentals at Lake of the Ozarks, a representative from the company went on the record with the Lake Sun to discuss upcoming legislation regarding short-term rentals in Missouri.

HomeAway is an online global vacation rental marketplace, a subsidiary of Expedia. Matt Curtis, HomeAway's senior director of global government affairs, has been with the company nearly six years during a time of rising awareness of the short term rental industry thanks to the internet and the growth of the sharing economy.


According to Curtis, HomeAway is supportive of recently filed bills in the Missouri General Assembly that seek to create "guardrails for regulations" at the state level as basis for creating a standard framework for political subdivisions to regulate the industry in their communities.

"A disconnected patchwork of regulations can encourage activity to go underground. When regulations get so onerous, the activity goes underground, it costs state's money because people aren't paying those taxes. We want to achieve compliance. A standard guardrail still allows municipalities to regulate, but creates a fair regulatory space and optimizes compliance," said Curtis. "That's a concept support by government associations like the U.S. Conference of Mayors and government think tanks."

The main bill on this issue in the Missouri House of Representatives was filed by Rep. Sonya Anderson (R-Springfield) and co-sponsored by Rep. Rocky Miller (R-Lake Ozark). House Bill 608 would not allow political subdivisions to create ordinances prohibiting "residential dwelling rentals," (RDR) defined as "a residential dwelling or any part thereof where four or fewer guest rooms are offered for rent to transient guests" and not including time share units and lodging establishments.

The bill leaves the door open to "reasonable regulations" on these rentals to local political subdivisions within a certain purview. Local entities would be able, if they so choose, to pass regulations for:

- The protection of the public's health and safety (such as fire and building codes, health and sanitation, transportation and traffic control, solid and hazardous wastes and pollution control)

- Local taxes that may be imposed to transient guests, provided that the taxes are of the same rate and on the same tax base as equivalent local taxes applied to lodging establishments

- Imposition or payment of inspection fees


- Posting requirements for licenses, certificates or registrations as well as emergency procedures

- Response time periods for complaints and transient guest concerns

- Nuisances related to RDRs

- Age requirements for transient guests at RDRs

- Off-street parking requirements

- Zoning requirements.

The bill would also require transient guests at RDRs to pay and for the owner to collect and remit any applicable taxes, whether it be a sales tax, hotel tax, occupancy tax, tourism tax or otherwise.


If an owner uses a facilitation platform (HomeAway is not; it is a marketing platform), the facilitation platform could be required to collect and remit those taxes on behalf of the owner.

If an owner uses a marketing platform like HomeAway, this type of platform would be required to:

- Disclose in the terms of service the obligation to pay any applicable taxes to both the guest and the owner

- Require as a term of service that the guest and owner acknowledge the obligation to pay those taxes

- Maintain records of any rentals facilitated for a period of three years for audits requested by a tax administrator

MORE VIDEO: Eldon cheerleaders big and small perform a halftime show for the girls' bas…
The bill would also require facilitation and marketing platforms to require as a term of service that the owner meets all applicable state and local requirements for RDRs before facilitating the RDR to a guest.

The difference between facilitating and marketing platforms is the collection of payment from the guest. Facilitating platforms collects payments and marketing does not.


Curtis also said HomeAway supports the assessment classification of these properties as residential.

According to Franklin, House Bill 632 aims to ensure residential dwelling units are classified as residential properties.

A Missouri Tax Commission opinion interpreted by local county assessors had raised a question over whether these properties should be assessed for local property tax purposes as commercial. The commercial rate is approximately 32 percent as opposed to 19 percent for residential.

Franklin's bill would only add the phrase, "and except that no property used for transient housing that qualifies as residential property under subsection 1 of this section shall be classified, in whole or in part, as anything other than residential property."

Subsection 1 currently defines residential property as "all real property improved by a structure which is used or intended to be used for residential living by human occupants, vacant land in connection with an airport, land used as a golf course, manufactured home parks, bed and breakfast inns in which the owner resides and uses as a primary residence with six or fewer rooms for rent, and time-share units as defined in section 407.600, except to the extent such units are actually rented and subject to sales tax under subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020, but residential property shall not include other similar facilities used primarily for transient housing. For the purposes of this section, "transient housing" means all rooms available for rent or lease for which the receipts from the rent or lease of such rooms are subject to state sales tax pursuant to subdivision (6) of subsection 1 of section 144.020".

Curtis commented, "It is residential use, and we're fully supportive of clarifying that."

He hearkened back to the history of short term rentals around the country and internationally.


Curtis sits on the international Board of Vacation Rental Managers Association which is in its 32nd year and recalls traveling with his parents as child in the 1970s and using residential vacation rentals for longer stays of a week or two.

"It's a fascinating topic, but short term rentals have been around a long time," he commented.

The short term residential rentals also have a big economic impact on communities from an estimated $22.2 million annually in even a small town like St. Joseph, Mich. to $283 million impact in Galveston, Texas.

"Vacation rentals have huge economic benefits for a lot of folks who want to travel the sway, and they stay on average longer periods of time, spending more money," said Curtis.

The meeting Jan. 12 at Tan-Tar-A Resort held by HomeAway and Expedia was an invitation-only gathering for its customers, according to Curtis, and are a regular practice for the company to hold around the country in order to discuss industry trends and data with customers who are property owners and property managers.

Rep. Diane Franklin was invited to attend, but was not able to make it in person and phoned in, confirmed Curtis. It was simply a meeting to talk about potential regulations with the people who list homes for rent on their website, he said.

The issue of nightly rentals has consumed the Camden County's Commission office this week as well with unexpected meetings being held with LOZ Vacation Rental Alliance on Tuesday, Tri-County Lodging Association on Wednesday and a formal, noticed meeting on Thursday.


On Tuesday, Commissioners Greg Hasty and Don Williams met with local realtor Stacy Shore and representatives of LOZ Vacation Rental Alliance, a group that opposes any additional taxation or regulations in the residential home rental market. The following day they met with TCLA to discuss their position on the nightly residential rental debate.

The commission is attempting to set up a public forum with those two parties, along with commissioners from Morgan and Miller counties, local realtor associations and Reps. Diane Franklin and Rocky Miller with the purpose of coming up with an agreed upon list of what should be done to present to legislators.

The main issue the commission seems to be struggling with are the potential for new regulations that would be difficult to enforce from the county's perspective and could have dramatic affects on the real estate market at the Lake. The commission is also concerned with certain definitions related to transient housing, lodging and residential housing, as the nightly rental issue is not adequately addressed in the county's unified land use code for its lakefront zoning district.
Both Hasty and Williams agreed there needs to be a mechanism of enforcement to protect neighbors from unruly guests, but whether that's through law enforcement or legislation is still undetermined.
Original post http://www.lakenewsonline.com/news/20170119/vacation-rental-official-discusses-proposed-mo-legislation






Both Hasty and Williams agreed there needs to be a mechanism of enforcement to protect