HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-04-23 Public Comment - J. Lovelace - STR'sFrom:Jason Lovelace
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]STR"s
Date:Thursday, August 3, 2023 3:12:39 PM
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To whom it may concern,
We attended the meeting yesterday at noon with many concerned property owners and
managers. We were asked to share our story and why we feel STR's should be allowed andcontinued in Bozeman.
\We have been running our licensed vacation homes for six years. We have investedthousands of dollars in furnishings, marketing, (website), and hundreds of dollars in licensing
fees. Each winter, we put our homes on a three to six month lease, as those months seem toslow down for nightly stays. We house a handful of either short term laborers ( Mostly
construction) in town or families that are here temporarily (usually job related) and don't wantto live in a hotel. We also house Big Sky employees that are here just through the ski season
and can't afford Big Sky rentals. More importantly, they don't want to live in a long termrental because they would have to invest in all the furnishings, put their name on the utilities,
and most likely sign a year lease, which isn't possible if they are just here for 3 to 6 months. We believe this is a valuable business and niche that supports and strengthens the community.
We run our vacation homes in the peak summer months as nightly and weekly rentals, which
provide a service to families as they tour Bozeman, Yellowstone, and MSU. Many timesguests say our vacation homes are more affordable than the hotels, and that they get to stay in
the entire home, all together (not separated by rooms as in a hotel). Many parents of MSUstudents scramble to find a hotel during the football game weekends and tell us the hotels are
sold out. They are extremely grateful to find a more affordable vacation home to spend theweekend with their family as they visit their MSU students. These are just a few reasons why
we feel our STR's are beneficial for this growing community and believe it would be adisservice to force a shut down of these homes.
Sincerely,
Celeste Lovelace