One of the many things that make Portland unique is its independence. Independent and locally owned businesses support the community by keeping dollars spent here from flowing out of state.

In the last several years, most of the hotels developed in Portland have become owned by large corporations or groups outside of Maine. Lots of money is spent here, yet lots of the profits often don’t remain here.

Downtown Portland is full of locally owned restaurants and shops that have helped the city create an amazing and national reputation as the premier foodie town in the USA. You won’t find many “chain” restaurants and stores, and that’s a “good” thing. Profits are kept locally. The same model – keeping profits local – holds true with locally owned and managed Airbnb units. Local hosts are small business owners like everyone else. We work every day to improve, manage and service a product we are extremely proud of.

Although the City Council in the past spent immeasurable time regulating Airbnbs, a group attempted to ban short-term rentals via a citizen’s initiative. It failed. They are back at it and are once again blaming the lack of affordable housing on short-term rentals. Their energy would be far better placed by meeting with their local City Council representatives and strongly encouraging them to invest in workforce housing. Another option may be to roll back the Green New Deal, which has brought affordable housing creation to a dead stop.

Chris Aceto
Portland

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