A rural community in west Michigan is essentially banning short-term rentals in most areas of the township. Park Township would join many other towns that have completely banned short-term rentals — like Airbnb and VRBO — or disallowed them in residential neighborhoods. New York City essentially destroyed its own short-term rental market, a move that, along with limits on the building of new hotels, has driven up hotel rates and harmed the Big Apple's tourism industry.

Rentals have a significant economic impact in Michigan and municipalities that do not find a middle path on allowing short-term rentals are shooting themselves in the foot.

A few years ago, Park Township reinstated a long dormant “ban” on short-term rentals. The results so far have been predictable. The ban drove up housing prices and caused some owners to sell their properties.

“We felt it was better to move on,” Laura Opsahl, a Park Township property owner, told Fox 17 news. “If we could do it all over again, I would think twice about the amount of money we invested in our property.”

Short-term rentals are good for Michigan’s economy. Data from Airbnb show that Michigan hosts had more than two million guests last year, earning nearly half a billion dollars from rentals. Those visitors brought $1.3 billion in spending to Michigan and more than $350 million in tax revenue for government units.

Local governments should not ban short-term rentals. A better model would be to enforce all regulations fairly on homeowners — long-term rentals and short-term rentals equally.

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