Towns pay to join study on short-term rental impacts

“This is something that impacts a lot of people”

The towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte will be joining a Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) study to look at the impacts of short-term vacation rentals. The first phase of the two-part study will look at the overall effects on ski town communities, where increasing numbers of homeowners are using websites like VRBO.com and airbnb.com to rent their homes to tourists.

According to Mt. Crested Butte town manager Joe Fitzpatrick, the study will look at “what’s going on and what are the impacts on the community, including everything from parking to additional sales tax.”
At a February 17 Mt. Crested Butte Town Council meeting, Fitzpatrick informed the council that about 10 percent of the town’s rental units are being handled through websites like VRBO.com. These rentals account for 7.5 percent of lodging sales tax, and when it comes to collecting that sales tax, Mt. Crested Butte doesn’t have much of a problem.
“We have a great handle on it here. I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent, but we’re close,” Fitzpatrick said. He saw the study as a way to learn about the broader impacts of short-term rentals on issues like workforce displacement.
Mt. Crested Butte mayor Dave Clayton agreed, saying, “I agree with Joe. Participation in this study is good because we have a potentially different environment from other communities because short-term rental has a big impact in town but not necessarily in the same way it does in other towns. Our input [into the study] is good.”
After some initial hesitation from Councilmember David O’Reilly, the council voted unanimously to join the first phase of the study for $1,950. Because tax collection is not an issue for Mt. Crested Butte, O’Reilly wondered about the benefits of participating but ultimately agreed that understanding the effects on workers was important.
On the same night, the town of Crested Butte also voted to join the study, allocating $1,950 for its participation as well. “I have had a lot of comments from the public on both sides of the issue,” said Councilperson Jim Schmidt. “This is something that impacts a lot of people.”
The second phase of the CAST study, which includes the development of specific action plans for each community, will come at a later date when the towns can decide if they want to participate.