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ABOUT THE EL PASO SHORT TERM RENTAL ALLIANCE
About the Organization
Founded in 2023, the El Paso STRA believes in the power of collaboration and fostering strong relationships among short term rental (STR) owners, local residents, and businesses. We are committed to responsible hosting practices among our members, and we uphold high standards of professionalism, guest satisfaction, and community respect. We encourage our members to be good neighbors, maintain properties responsibly, and contribute to the overall well-being of our community.
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What We Do
Advocacy & Regulatory support
We represent responsible short-term rentals in El Paso at City Hall, and we provide hosts and managers resources to advocate for yourselves. We also provide regular updates on the latest in local ordinance discussions and state laws, and we provide support tools to help you follow local rules, pay taxes, and more.
education & community
We create content and events for hosts and managers of all experience levels to professionalize and optimize your hosting. We also foster opportunities to grow your network. Whether you’re looking for a vendor or business partner, or you just want to connect with other hosts, EPSTRA is your community.
Partners of the El Paso STRA
Our Mission & Values
Our mission is to foster a vibrant and harmonious community of short-term rental owners, residents, and stakeholders. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where STR owners can thrive, guests can experience exceptional hospitality, and our neighborhood can flourish.
WE VALUE:
Collaboration
Respect
Education
Resources
Community Engagement
GET TO KNOW SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Short-term rentals are not Airbnb or a faceless corporation. Short-term rental hosts are faces you know: your family, your friends, the people next to you at the farmer’s market.
Short-Term Rental Operators
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rentals are owned or managed by Airbnb, Vrbo, and other booking platforms.
REALITY: Airbnb, Vrbo, and other platforms solely connect guests to hosts. They do not own or manage any of the properties subject to local regulations. Rather, short-term rentals are owned and managed by members of our community. Therefore, regulations decided by city councils affect their livelihoods, not Airbnb’s.
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rental owners are out-of-town investors or corporate developers.
REALITY: The majority of short-term rental owners are locals renting their homes to make a side income that helps them keep their homes, save for or supplement their retirement, or cover other life expenses. In El Paso, this is especially needed income with the nation’s second highest property taxes. In fact, 70% of short-term rental owners earn enough to cover only half of their monthly mortgage payments. (1)
Shared Community Economic Benefit
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rentals aren’t taxed, giving them an unfair advantage over hotels.
REALITY: Short-term rentals in El Paso collect and remit the same 6% hotel occupancy tax as hotels.
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rentals cause affordable housing problems.
REALITY: In El Paso, whole-home short-term rentals make up 0.5% of all housing units. An Oxford Economics study found that nationally, short-term rentals account for a fractional .2 percentage point of the 4.3 percent increase in real rents over the course of the last four years.
Affordable housing problems are caused by a disparity between wages and real estate market factors.
On the contrary, renting short-term helps local homeowners supplement their mortgages to be able to keep their homes.
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rentals do not contribute to the local tourism economy.
REALITY: Short-term rentals make it possible for more people to visit and spend money in El Paso. One in three travelers are unlikely to consider a destination if short-term rentals are not an accommodation option. Short-term rentals provide an economic option for guests who need more space but cannot afford multiple hotel rooms and those who need access to amenities like kitchens to be able to cook their own meals, including the many military-related travelers that visit El Paso for Fort Bliss.
Additionally, short-term rentals keep tourism dollars in our community and disperse them to local businesses in areas away from traditional hotel commercial areas.
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rentals do not create or support local jobs.
REALITY: Short-term retnals rely on the services of local housekeepers, landscapers, maintenance technicians, pest control providers, property managers, and other property care specialists. Case studies have shown that for every new short-term rental, four fractional jobs are created.
Short-Term Rental Guests
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rental guests destroy the fabric of neighborhoods.
REALITY: The average short-term rental guest is a 50-year-old woman traveling with a family of four. (1) Furthermore, 91% of short-term rentals here are booked less than half the year (2).
MISCONCEPTION: Short-term rental guests are noisier than residents.
REALITY: There is no evidence short-term rental guests are louder than long-term occupants. In fact, short-term rental guests were found to be quieter than long-term occupants 4 out of 7 days a week. (3)
Sources:
1. Vrbo 2. AirDNA 3. NoiseAware Study 4. Airbnb