No Reckless Expansion Of Short-Term Rentals

To the editor: After the Current’s Wednesday report on last year’s occupancy tax receipts, we can hear noisy and shrill voices claiming that, like Chicken Little, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling….!” on Nantucket’s rental economy.

Not true. What’s falling is the stock market and consumer confidence on and off the island amidst the predictable end of the Covid boom in Nantucket tourism that inflated property values, promoted over-development, and gouged guests with hyper-inflated rental prices. What’s also falling is voter confidence that anyone has the right answer for Nantucket’s short-term rental (STR) quandary. No boom lasts forever, and with all the economic uncertainties facing the world at the moment, all bets are off about where things go from here. Visibility is nil and uncertainty is the only certainty.

Ignore these economic warning signs at your peril, but for goodness’s sake, whatever you do, DON’T VOTE for Article 66, the retread of Article 59 that was defeated last year, to permit STRs in every residential neighborhood. It can only lead to the dilution of the value of our current inventory by increasing supply in the face of declining demand. If occupancy tax data and the Chamber report that day-trippers are up, along with hostelry tax revenues that offset small declines in STR occupancy tax, that’s a good thing that shows the resiliency of the island to pivot as it has always done.

The answer is NOT to stimulate reckless expansion of STRs right now. Anyone who has taken Econ. 101 knows that adding capacity to what might be a weakening market is the wrong thing to do. It will only hurt current market participants. The smarter tactic is to preserve what we have in order to keep the island economy ticking along in the face of uncertain economic times and the multiple financial challenges we face.

Let’s get a grip, stop the scare tactics and fear-mongering and intentional mischaracterization and second-guessing of what Judge Vhay is thinking and, as Churchill advised, “Keep calm and carry on.”

Charity Benz