• News
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
  • Marketing
  • Tech
  • OTAs
  • Customer Service
  • Regs
  • Housekeeping
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
VRM Intel
  • News
    • Rented joins Vacation Rental Women’s Summit as Presenting Sponsor
    • Survey Shows 31% of Those Who Traveled after COVID-19 Stayed in a Short-term/Vacation Rental
    • Rented Launches New Automated Rate Tool for Vacation Rental Professionals
    • Vrbo Is Performing Better Than Airbnb for Vacation Rental Managers, But Direct Booking Still Number One Revenue Source . . . By A Lot
    • 4th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day Is February 3, 2021
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
    • Survey Shows 31% of Those Who Traveled after COVID-19 Stayed in a Short-term/Vacation Rental
    • Paycheck-Protection-Program-for-VR-industry
      Latest Round of Paycheck Protection Program Includes Up to $2 Million Loans for Some Vacation Rental Business Owners
    • Timing is Everything: The Impact of Seasonality on COVID Recovery for Southeast Destinations
    • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
      The Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
  • Marketing
    • Rented joins Vacation Rental Women’s Summit as Presenting Sponsor
    • Survey Shows 31% of Those Who Traveled after COVID-19 Stayed in a Short-term/Vacation Rental
    • Vrbo Is Performing Better Than Airbnb for Vacation Rental Managers, But Direct Booking Still Number One Revenue Source . . . By A Lot
    • 4th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day Is February 3, 2021
    • Timing is Everything: The Impact of Seasonality on COVID Recovery for Southeast Destinations
  • Tech
    • Rented Launches New Automated Rate Tool for Vacation Rental Professionals
    • Timing is Everything: The Impact of Seasonality on COVID Recovery for Southeast Destinations
    • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    • 2021 Social Media Game Changer
      Are You Ready to Ride the Wave to Becoming a 2021 Social Media Game Changer?
    • NDAs & Confidentiality Agreements: What to Include and When to Enforce
  • OTAs
    • Vrbo Is Performing Better Than Airbnb for Vacation Rental Managers, But Direct Booking Still Number One Revenue Source . . . By A Lot
    • 4th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day Is February 3, 2021
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
    • 6 Takeaways from Vrbo’s 2021 Consumer Travel Trend Report
    • Barron’s: Airbnb Set to Price December 9 and Trade December 10
  • Customer Service
    • Paycheck-Protection-Program-for-VR-industry
      Latest Round of Paycheck Protection Program Includes Up to $2 Million Loans for Some Vacation Rental Business Owners
    • Meredith Oskenholt-Meredith Lodging-Bend Oregon
      The Principles That Have Guided Meredith Lodging through the Global Pandemic, Raging Forest Fires and Personal Family Challenges
    • Dynamic Pricing: To Adjust Rates or Not to Adjust Rates
    • Repurposing Space: Broadening Your Vacation Rental’s Appeal
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
  • Regs
    • Barron’s: Airbnb Set to Price December 9 and Trade December 10
    • Strategic Forecasting Beyond 2021: Are Vacation Rental Managers Changing Fast Enough?
    • Alabama’s tourism economy benefits from Florida Governor DeSantis’ shutdown of vacation rentals
    • Airbnb reaches out to city officials to influence “transitional travel reopening plans”
    • Jeff Paglialonga on FL Vacation Rental COVID-related ban: “We need your support to rectify what I believe is to be the illegal taking of property from Florida vacation rental owners.”
  • Housekeeping
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    • Q&A with Breezeway founder Jeremy Gall about company’s $8 million funding round and more
    • Gatlinburg-based Cabins For YOU acquires Chalet Village and is looking for more. Q&A with owner and founder Greg Plimpton
    • What is the cost of Airbnb’s recommended 24- to 72-hour “buffer” time between stays?
    • The Professional Vacation Rental Manager’s Crisis Playbook
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • RSS

Regulations

Average Noise Levels Compared in Short-Term Rentals and Long-Term Occupied Homes

Average Noise Levels Compared in Short-Term Rentals and Long-Term Occupied Homes
mm
David Krauss
August 6, 2018

When Henry Ford’s Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908, the existing rules of the road were instantly rendered inadequate. In the following decade, pedestrian and passenger fatalities caused by driver misconduct, such as speeding and drunk driving, compelled regulators to respond. Were all drivers culpable for the negative outcomes that drove the legislation? Certainly not. Was it necessary to create regulations to promote public safety? Of course. An obvious parallel exists today as the tidal wave of legislation rises to address the (perceived) negative outcomes of the burgeoning short-term vacation rental industry.

In this article, I endeavor to look at the “noise issue” using data from two NoiseAware exploratory studies. The first study compared average noise levels in short-term rentals with noise levels in long-term occupied homes. This eight-week study took place in Charleston across thirty-four short-term rentals and long-term occupied homes. Long-term occupied homes included both tenants with twelve-month leases and owner-occupied properties. This study was conducted in partnership with HomeAway.

The second study evaluated noise monitoring technology’s ability to resolve noise disturbances more efficiently than relying on code enforcement. This study compared the City of Palm Springs’ published vacation rental hotline data with the data produced by 181 Palm Springs vacation rental homes equipped with noise monitoring systems. This study was conducted in partnership with the Palm Springs Vacation Rental Tourism Association.

 

What were the results?

Charleston Study:

The Charleston study sampled over 2.9 million minutes and did not find evidence that the average short-term rental was louder than the average long-term occupied home. In fact, the short-term rental properties were quieter than long-term occupied homes four out of seven days of the week—Sunday through Wednesday. As for which units appeared to have the highest average volume, sleeping capacity most distinctly correlated positively with loudness, not whether a property was used for short-term or long-term occupancy.

Palm Springs Study:

During the six-month study period from September 4, 2017, to March 11, 2018, an analysis of the Palm Springs Vacation Rental Department data shows that the average response time for the 348 calls was thirty-seven minutes. During the same period, in the vacation rental homes equipped with noise monitoring systems, the average time from noise alert to resolution was twenty-two minutes. Noise monitoring reduced the resolution time 41 percent from thirty-seven minutes to twenty-two minutes.

What do these results mean?

The results of the Charleston study indicate the following:

  • Living next to a short-term rental does not necessarily mean you will have a louder neighbor than living next to a long-term occupant.
  • The positive correlation of maximum capacity with loudness indicates that the higher the number of occupants at a property—whether short-term or long-term—the greater the chance of potential noise issues.

The results of the Palm Springs study indicate the following:

  • Noise nuisance issues are more efficiently resolved using technology than relying on neighbor complaints and code enforcement.
  • Resolution of noise issues can be achieved using noise monitoring systems without relying on neighbors to take any action.

 

Why are these results important?

Vacation rental managers know that the narrative of loud party houses is overblown. Never before has there been data like this available that supports the counter-narrative: that vacation rental properties can be great neighbors. In the regulatory arena, these first-of-their-kind exploratory studies can be powerful tools in the toolbox.

Bringing data to the table is critical in legislative debates. With cities, counties, and more recently, states considering regulatory actions, having data like this should lead to more balanced consideration. We’ve all heard of the neighbors who show up at City Hall with tales of unruly, loud behavior at the vacation rental next door. Those stories have often driven the narrative that short-term rentals are incompatible with neighborliness. However, the antidote to sensational anecdotes is context and relevant additional information.

These studies help shift the regulatory conversation from punishment and enforcement to an orientation around proactive, self-sufficient solutions. Cities do not want to police low-priority noise nuisance issues—at short-term rentals or long-term residences. So, educating legislators about the existence and effectiveness of noise monitoring technology tempers the inclination to overregulate. The ability to self-police noise issues using technology is a powerful concept, and one that both regulators and neighbors can support.

Just as the Model T ushered the automobile onto Main Street, short-term rentals are now squarely in the mainstream. Because history tends to repeat itself, we are smack in the middle of the reactionary regulatory period. Driver misconduct led to the first wave of automobile regulations, so it should be no surprise that the collateral impacts of short-term rentals on neighbors and neighborhoods are being hyper-scrutinized.

With noise nuisance issues high on the list of neighbor concerns, it is critical that we have information at our disposal to make these two critical points: short-term rentals do not inherently make for bad neighbors, and when noise issues do arise, there are solutions available to bring efficient resolution without relying on neighbors to lift a finger.

Related Itemsdavid kraussFeaturedhomeawaynoise levelsnoise monitoringnoise regulationsnoiseawarepalm springs vacation rental departmentpalm springs vacation rental tourism associationVacation rentals
Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Regulations
August 6, 2018
mm
David Krauss

Co-founder, NoiseAware

Related Itemsdavid kraussFeaturedhomeawaynoise levelsnoise monitoringnoise regulationsnoiseawarepalm springs vacation rental departmentpalm springs vacation rental tourism associationVacation rentals

More in Regulations

Barron’s: Airbnb Set to Price December 9 and Trade December 10

Amy HinoteDecember 2, 2020
Read More

Strategic Forecasting Beyond 2021: Are Vacation Rental Managers Changing Fast Enough?

Clark TwiddyDecember 2, 2020
Read More

Alabama’s tourism economy benefits from Florida Governor DeSantis’ shutdown of vacation rentals

Amy HinoteMay 17, 2020
Read More

Airbnb reaches out to city officials to influence “transitional travel reopening plans”

Amy HinoteMay 8, 2020
Read More

Jeff Paglialonga on FL Vacation Rental COVID-related ban: “We need your support to rectify what I believe is to be the illegal taking of property from Florida vacation rental owners.”

Jeff PaglialongaMay 1, 2020
Read More

Hosts launch legal fund for collective action against Airbnb for unilateral refunds and inciting travelers to cancel reservations

Amy HinoteApril 22, 2020
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Sponsor News

  • Rented Launches New Automated Rate Tool for Vacation Rental Professionals
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 25, 2021
  • Inhabit IQ Gets “Significant Investment” from Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division
    Latest NewsDecember 18, 2020
  • You Are Your Best Revenue Manager
    Revenue ManagementNovember 30, 2020
  • How Email Helped Save Vacation Rental Companies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    AdvertisementNovember 21, 2020
VRM Intel
Calendar of Events
Videos & Whitepapers
VRMintel Magazine
Subscribe
Advertise
About Us
Authors
Contact Us

Recent News

  • Rented joins Vacation Rental Women’s Summit as Presenting Sponsor
    BusinessJanuary 25, 2021
  • Survey Shows 31% of Those Who Traveled after COVID-19 Stayed in a Short-term/Vacation Rental
    COVID-19January 25, 2021
  • Rented Launches New Automated Rate Tool for Vacation Rental Professionals
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 25, 2021
  • Vrbo Is Performing Better Than Airbnb for Vacation Rental Managers, But Direct Booking Still Number One Revenue Source . . . By A Lot
    BusinessJanuary 24, 2021

View Current Issue

VRMintel Copyright © 2016-17 | Click HERE to Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright | Jobs | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Avoid Regional Economic Collapse: Join An Association
HomeAway Proposes New Orleans Short-Term Rental Policy Amid Industry’s Uncertain Future in the City
We use cookies and similar technologies to recognize repeat visits, as well as to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and analyze traffic. By clicking "I Accept" you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.Accept