HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-26-23 Public Comment - M. Chase - Expedia Group Public Comment on Ordinance 2131From:Mackenzie Chase (ELCA)
To:Agenda
Subject:Expedia Group Public Comment on Ordinance 2131
Date:Monday, June 26, 2023 3:28:51 PM
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Expedia Group - Comments Bozeman Ordinance 2131 6.25.pdf
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Dear Mayor Andrus and Bozeman City Commissioners,
On behalf of Expedia Group, a family of brands that includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and short-
term rental leader Vrbo, I would like to thank you for your continued work to enhance Bozeman’s
short-term rental regulations, and I am writing to share comments on proposed Ordinance 2131,
revising Bozeman’s short-term rental code to include the regulation of hosting platforms.
Expedia Group welcomes the responsible regulation of short-term rentals, and we have worked with
municipalities around the world to craft and implement effective legislation. We are eager to
collaborate with you and serve as an active partner as Bozeman works to increase compliance with
existing short-term rental regulations. However, we have a few concerns about the proposed
ordinance text, and respectfully request amendments to address these issue that are unworkable as
currently drafted.
Reporting Requirements
The hosting platform reporting requirements include information that could conflict with federal
laws. Specifically, absent a subpoena or other appropriate legal action, providing a report of
addresses, owner names, or booking information like length of stay or price paid (Section J(2)) could
run afoul of the federal Stored Communications Act and the Fourth Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution. As an alternative, we would suggest amending the text to require a report that could
include the URLs and permit numbers associated with listings in Bozeman, which would allow city
officials to review information without utilizing the website’s search function and to compare listings
against the city’s information for registered properties (e.g. owner name, listing address).
Including Permit in Listings
Expedia regularly requires listing creators to include a local permit, license, or registration number in
their listings to assist communities with compliance. As currently written, however, Section J(3)
requires platforms to include the permit number “and the permit” in all short-term rental listings. It
is not feasible or necessary to include a copy of the permit itself in the listing, and no other city in
the United States attempts to mandate this. Our site is not designed to display a permit document in
a listing; doing so would violate our owners’ privacy rights, our privacy rights, and would violate
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects companies from requirements to
monitor, modify, or edit our owners’ listing content. Inclusion of the permit number in each listing is
the best, proven way to identify the permit associated with the property, and we are committed to
working with Bozeman to ensure maximum permitting compliance. We recommend deleting the
phrase “and the permit” from Section J(3).
Requiring Review of Permits from Our Owners
Similarly, Section J(4) requires platforms to remove listings where an owner has “failed to supply to
the hosting platform . . . the permit for the short term rental.” Manually collecting and reviewing
copies of local permits is not practical or achievable for internet-based platforms. Alternatively, as
we have done successfully in jurisdictions across the globe, we can require short-term rental
operators to display permit numbers on listings so the city can determine those which may be
invalid, expired, or revoked; Expedia Group has a dedicated email address,
VRGovSupportExpedia.com, through which the city can then request the removal of those listings
within the prescribed time frame. We recommend deleting the phrase “or the permit” from Section
J(4).
Effective Date
To comply with this proposed legislation, we would implement a mandatory field for Vrbo owners
and operators to include the short-term rental permit number provided by the City of Bozeman. We
would design and launch a new feature on the website based on the city’s permit number format
(i.e., the number and format of alphanumeric digits) and thoroughly communicate the new
mandatory field requirement to Vrbo owners and operators. We suggest pushing the legislation’s
effective date to 90 days after passage to allow us sufficient time to partner with Bozeman to
effectively undertake this work.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments. I am happy to meet with you to discuss or to
provide additional information.
Thank you,
Mackenzie Chase
Government Affairs Manager, Montana
Mackenzie Chase
Regional Government Affairs ManagerExpedia GroupM: (206) 437-71671111 Expedia Group Way WestSeattle, WA 98119
machase@expediagroup.com
1111 Expedia Group Way West | Seattle, WA, 98119 | USA | T +1 206 481 7200| F +1 206 481 7240
expediagroup.com
June 25, 2023
Dear Mayor Andrus and Bozeman City Commissioners,
On behalf of Expedia Group, a family of brands that includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com,
and short-term rental leader Vrbo, I would like to thank you for your continued work to
enhance Bozeman’s short-term rental regulations, and I am writing to share comments
on proposed Ordinance 2131, revising Bozeman’s short-term rental code to include the
regulation of hosting platforms.
Expedia Group welcomes the responsible regulation of short-term rentals, and we have
worked with municipalities around the world to craft and implement effective
legislation. We are eager to collaborate with you and serve as an active partner as
Bozeman works to increase compliance with existing short-term rental regulations.
However, we have a few concerns about the proposed ordinance text, and
respectfully request amendments to address these issue that are unworkable as
currently drafted.
Reporting Requirements
The hosting platform reporting requirements include information that could conflict with
federal laws. Specifically, absent a subpoena or other appropriate legal action,
providing a report of addresses, owner names, or booking information like length of stay
or price paid (Section J(2)) could run afoul of the federal Stored Communications Act
and the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. As an alternative, we would
suggest amending the text to require a report that could include the URLs and permit
numbers associated with listings in Bozeman, which would allow city officials to review
information without utilizing the website’s search function and to compare listings
against the city’s information for registered properties (e.g. owner name, listing
address).
Including Permit in Listings
Expedia regularly requires listing creators to include a local permit, license, or
registration number in their listings to assist communities with compliance. As currently
written, however, Section J(3) requires platforms to include the permit number “and the
permit” in all short-term rental listings. It is not feasible or necessary to include a copy of
the permit itself in the listing, and no other city in the United States attempts to mandate
this. Our site is not designed to display a permit document in a listing; doing so would
violate our owners’ privacy rights, our privacy rights, and would violate Section 230 of
the Communications Decency Act, which protects companies from requirements to
monitor, modify, or edit our owners’ listing content. Inclusion of the permit number in
each listing is the best, proven way to identify the permit associated with the property,
1111 Expedia Group Way West | Seattle, WA, 98119 | USA | T +1 206 481 7200| F +1 206 481 7240
expediagroup.com
and we are committed to working with Bozeman to ensure maximum permitting
compliance. We recommend deleting the phrase “and the permit” from Section J(3).
Requiring Review of Permits from Our Owners
Similarly, Section J(4) requires platforms to remove listings where an owner has “failed to
supply to the hosting platform . . . the permit for the short term rental.” Manually
collecting and reviewing copies of local permits is not practical or achievable for
internet-based platforms. Alternatively, as we have done successfully in jurisdictions
across the globe, we can require short-term rental operators to display permit numbers
on listings so the city can determine those which may be invalid, expired, or revoked;
Expedia Group has a dedicated email address, VRGovSupportExpedia.com, through
which the city can then request the removal of those listings within the prescribed time
frame. We recommend deleting the phrase “or the permit” from Section J(4).
Effective Date
To comply with this proposed legislation, we would implement a mandatory field for
Vrbo owners and operators to include the short-term rental permit number provided by
the City of Bozeman. We would design and launch a new feature on the website
based on the city’s permit number format (i.e., the number and format of
alphanumeric digits) and thoroughly communicate the new mandatory field
requirement to Vrbo owners and operators. We suggest pushing the legislation’s
effective date to 90 days after passage to allow us sufficient time to partner with
Bozeman to effectively undertake this work.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments. I am happy to meet with you to
discuss or to provide additional information.
Thank you,
Mackenzie Chase
Government Affairs Manager, Montana