Local owners of short-term rental properties gathered in Kingston Monday to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject a new law that they say will harm them, and their communities, economically. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, seeks to create a statewide registry of STRs in an effort to help municipalities measure their impact on local housing markets while ensuring owners pay all applicable taxes and fees.

On Monday, six local short-term rental (STR) owners gathered at an Abeel Street property owned by participant Gio Rodriguez to discuss the impact the law would have on their livelihoods. The event was organized by STR heavyweight Airbnb as part of a statewide lobbying push against the law which has passed both the Senate and the Assembly but still needs Hochul’s sign-off. The property owners described the economic benefits of STRs while claiming that the costs and onerous requirements would make it difficult or impossible for them to stay in business.

“If this legislation were to pass it would really, really impact our ability to host,” said interior designer and Kerhonkson resident Emily Tillery who with her partner owns a small cabin in Catskill that they maintain as an Airbnb. “Covering the bills the utilities and the maintenance costs would be extremely challenging.”

The legislation would require STR owners to register with the Department of State, even if they are already registered with one of 150 local databases maintained by municipalities, including Kingston and Ulster County. Hosts would also have to provide annual data on the property’s operations, including records of each stay. The law also sets a minimum standard for insurance coverage at STR properties. It would require hosts to carry policies that cover no less than the value of the property plus $300,000 for damage claims. That’s over and above the standard insurance policies offered by STR platforms. Other regulations target the platforms themselves, including data-sharing provisions and a requirement that they collect all applicable taxes. (Currently some platforms, like Airbnb, collect taxes as part of their booking procedure and pay them to the appropriate municipalities. Others leave payment of taxes to hosts.)

At Monday’s press conference, Airbnb hosts described how the service had helped them stay afloat following pandemic related job losses, defray the costs of owning their own home or hold onto a longtime family property they might otherwise have to sell. Rodriguez, a Coast Guard reservist, said that the STR platform had allowed him to realize his dream of home ownership.

“Being in the miliary it was always that American Dream to own a property, to own a piece of something,” said Rodriguez. “And Airbnb allows me to do that.”

In a press release touting the event, Airbnb sought to make the case that platform was an economic benefit not just to hosts, but to their communities. The statement claimed that the platform’s economic impact on New York State came to $4.5 billion annually including $1.2 billion in state and local taxes. Industry proponents note that with 200 municipalities in New York imposing their own registration requirements and other regulations, the state law in their view is redundant and that regulating STRs was best left to local officials familiar with the unique needs of their communities.

“Local residents have the most at stake if the New York State Legislature’s newly passed short-term rental bill is enacted,” the statement reads. “With a majority of Kingston hosts renting out just one home to supplement their income, the proposed rules are projected to significantly reduce their earnings, jeopardizing their ability to keep up with rising costs of living.”

But backers of the bill say statewide regulation is needed. In recent years STRs have come under increasing scrutiny over their impact on local housing markets. Critics say STRs can harm communities by keeping badly needed housing stock off the traditional rental market. Last year, Kingston — which has seen massive price hikes in both the rental and homebuyers’ market in recent years — introduced strict new regulations on STRs as part of the “Kingston Forward” rezoning plan. The regulations include registration requirements and stiff fines for those who fail to comply. The local code is especially strict about non-owner-occupied units that serve as full-time short-stay rentals. Those operations are restricted to 1 percent of the city’s total housing stock (currently 106 units) and barred from residential neighborhoods.

Hinchey, who served as the new law’s main sponsor, defended the legislation in an email to Kingston Wire. Hinchey wrote that the statewide registry was needed to allow municipalities to assess the impact of short-term rentals on housing availability. Hinchey added that nothing in the legislation would prevent STR hosts from continuing to operate and the law would not impact local regulations.

“Short-term rentals have been a driving cause of skyrocketing housing costs in our communities,” Hinchey wrote. “Our Short-Term Rental Registry will help municipalities figure out how much more housing we need to build so people can afford to live here without getting priced out. This bill will also bring millions of dollars back into our communities to help reinvest without raising local taxes on folks who live here, including on short-term rental owners.”