Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Political Science

Advisor/Mentor

Lee Mitchell, Joshua

Committee Member

Sebold, Karen

Second Committee Member

Billig, Noah

Third Committee Member

Plavcan, Joseph

Abstract

Recent research in the short-term rental (STR) industry shows a positive relationship between the expansion of usage of home-sharing platforms and the cost of housing, as well as an inverse relationship between STR expansion and the availability of long-term housing units. In these studies, as short-term rental units increase, housing costs tend to go up, and long-term housing unit availability tends to decrease by a measurable amount. As the utilization of STRs can be a valuable source of income for citizens and assist with increasing housing prices and the cost of living, leaders, and researchers are also concerned about their impacts on housing prices and availability. While this paper does not aim to judge whether STRs are a suitable form of hospitality lodging for cities, it does aim to understand the industry's relationship with housing availability and attainability and to guide community leaders and policymakers for the future implementation of regulations in their individual cities, using Branson, Missouri, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, as models.

Keywords

short-term rental; airbnb; urbanism

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