Dear editor:
Now that Idyllwild is stuck with countless short-term rentals (STRs), here’s what we locals can do going forward.
I just met a wonderful person who was staying across the street at an STR. I shared with them contact information for a friend who has an STR up the street with whom they just booked their next visit directly.
By going direct, AirBnB and Vacasa and the like will no longer be getting a cut of the profits.
My new friend (guest) gets a better place at a reduced rate, and friend up the street gets a wonderful (and vetted) guest, and by doing this we, the people, can somewhat help control the types of people (weed out the partiers and troublemakers), and in so doing, help minimize the rabble rousers coming into our communities. It’s going to be a long process, but in the end AirBnB and Vacasa and the like don’t care about us, just the almighty dollar, so why should we care about them. I say let’s do whatever we can to control our own destiny.
What do you think? Worth a try?
Mark Dean
Pine Cove
