Members of short-term rental industry develop plan to reopen

A recent post on Facebook about a stay at a Palm Springs Air BNB quickly became controversial as several people pointed to the city’s ban on short-term rentals.

“Currently the state is not allowing any leisure travel, so that includes hotels, motels, time shares or vacation rentals. The city had our own order, we’re not renewing that and we’re going to follow state rules,” said Geoff Kors, mayor of Palm Springs.

Despite the restrictions, the social media post says the group was able to rent a home for a Memorial Day weekend trip.

NBC Palm Springs conducted a search on Air BNB for available rentals, we found a handful of listings in Palm Springs. While some owners said they couldn’t accept renters at this time, a few made special offers.

“We do know that not everyone follows the rules, and the first fine for someone illegally operating a vacation rental is $5,000 and people could lose their license to do it,” said Mayor Kors.

But local companies that have followed the guidelines say they’ve lost thousands, and are now calling on the state to reopen the industry.

“It devastated the vacation rental industry the same way it devastated restaurants and retail,” said Michael Valeo with Altamira Vacation Rentals. “We are rolling out plans for a gradual reopening that we believe will work and will be safe but most importantly but will also allow visitors to come back to Palm Springs and start getting some tourists dollars flowing into our economy.”

Mayor Kors says he’s been working with the county supervisors to send new proposals about rental companies to the state.

“Figuring out how to do this safely and coexist with the virus is really where things are going and we need to do it as smartly and safely as possible,” said Mayor Kors.