Are you curious about Airbnb? Are your clients?

I’ve used Airbnb for work travel a few times. An apartment in Los Angeles. A condo in Chicago. The experience was certainly different compared to staying at the preferred hotel chains we’re accustomed to on business trips. Overall, the short-term rental experience was fine. Room for improvement, sure. A value for what it was? I think so. It’s made me think, could I rent out my own house when we’re not there? Do I want to? Is it worth it? Considering the popularity of Airbnb, many people must be concluding it is worth it. For me at least, the jury is still out.

The Orinda City Council recently passed an ordinance which creates a short-term rental registration system and limits the number of registrations. Perhaps there is not going to be a shortage of registrations, but as a lawyer and entrepreneur I want to preserve my right to lawfully operate a short-term rental. So I just filled out the City of Orinda’s Short-term Rental Registration and Transient Occupancy Tax Registration Certificate Form. The forms raise issues regarding use restrictions, property management, taxes, compliance with municipal and building codes. What about insurance? I have some questions, and I’ve been looking at some of the issues for the better part of the year. Do you have questions?

Please join Courtney Kasper of QBE North America and T.J. D'Amato of D'Amato Law for a discussion on short-term rentals at DRI’s Professional Liability Seminar in New York on December 7-8, 2017. For more information see here. Courtney and T.J. will address some of the issues confronting attorneys, accountants, and real estate and insurance professionals by the growing activity created by digital economy websites like Airbnb.