My family has been in Woodstock for four generations, and in the Catskills region even longer than that. I grew up in Woodstock, and after some time away I moved back home and intend to stay here for the rest of my life. In the past few years, however, the future that I want for myself and for my family has been put into question.
The pandemic was hard on everyone, and I am unfortunately one of the many who were without work for more than two years. When money got tight, opening part of my home on Airbnb helped me keep my beloved home. Woodstock has regulations on short-term rentals (STRs), but there is currently a commission making recommendations on how they should be changed that could impact my family and others like me who rely on this income to make ends meet.
I took a tiny former chicken coop on my property and converted it into a cozy listing for guests. This STR has allowed me to pay my mortgage and home insurance, as well as my property and school taxes. While I was out of work, the income from this rental helped me and my wife keep our heads above water. Without Airbnb, I don’t know what we would have done to make ends meet.
Renting out part of our property not only benefits my family, but our guests as well. Our visitors love being able to affordably stay in what can be a costly area, and they are thrilled to be able to walk to town from our place and experience Woodstock like locals. This proximity to town also allows us to give back to our community, as our guests enjoy and spend money at local restaurants and shops.
Our STR also helps us contribute to our local economy through hiring locals to clean and provide lawn care. Through this rental, which greatly improved our financial situation, we are able to also support our neighbors. If we were not able to host guests anymore, Woodstock would lose out on a significant amount of money.
Hosts like me support rules that are fair. The key to regulating STRs is balance, and local governments are not fully understanding the impact that overly restricting STRs will have on homeowners, as well as local small businesses. They have been such a boon to our community during these hard times. I believe that the current rules in place can improve. We would like to see the creation of fair and balanced rules that are more reasonable, as overregulation will only cause harm.
What I would like the commission to understand is that I’m not some out-of-state landlord profiting off of a town that I’ve never been to. Woodstock is my home, and renting out some extra space means that it can continue to be. I love Woodstock, and so do the visitors who trickle into town though my STR. Overregulating these rentals would be a mistake.
Join the family! 
