Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona has signed SB 1350, a law which prohibits cities and municipalities from banning the listing and use of short-term rentals like Airbnb, HomeAway, and others.
Signing the law isn’t solely about gaining political points, it’s also another step in the Arizona governor’s stated plan to develop public policy in the state that encourages a sharing economy.
From the governor’s perspective, the law helps travelers who, instead of turning to hotel chains, can inject the profits of tourism directly into local economy by paying locals. It’s a win-win situation, essentially.
Advocates for the lobbying group the Travel Technology Association support the new law.
In a statement, Matt Kiessling, leader of short-term rental policy for the Travel Technology Association (a trade association with members ranging from Airbnb to Expedia), said the following about the ratification of SB 1350:
“With SB 1350, Arizona has proven itself to be forward-thinking when it comes to public policy, willing to embrace the peer-to-peer economy while also balancing the interests of all stakeholders,” and that, “This bill truly is a win for everyone – it ensures that short-term rentals remain an option for travelers to Arizona and provides enormous economic benefits to local communities, while streamlining the collection of tax revenue.”
So far, this is one of the first major steps towards protecting, and essentially, promoting the use of short-term rentals in the U.S., while also laying out some framework should other states decide to follow suit.
