CAZENOVIA, N.Y. -- The village of Cazenovia heard from the community Monday night, as it tries to resolve concerns some residents have with rental services like Airbnb.
Dozens of people were in attendance, but the outcome was not necessarily what everyone expected.
While there have been many concerned community members, the meeting seemed surprisingly positive. Although they and officials agree there needs to be some kind of regulation.
At one point, the village was considering an all-out ban on companies like Airbnb, in response to an issue they had last month in the village concerning online rentals.
Since announcing this meeting, the mayor says he has received extensive input from the public.
At the meeting, residents’ concerns included the potential for hosts to avoid paying taxes, and the damage that may be done to rental properties.
A concern officials shared was not being fully aware of where the Airbnbs are located.
A local host says it's as easy as a Google search to find the locations and there is review feature where you can find out more about the potential guests. Overall, he said he was pleasantly surprised with the feedback from not only officials but the community as a whole. And that he's glad people are seeing how the service brings revenue and people to the area.
"We've had nothing but good experiences with it. We probably had thirty groups throughout the last year and a half or two years. And we're booked pretty much solid through this year,” said Cal Nichols, an Airbnb host.
He says many groups have been in for weddings, or people traveling from out of the country.
No decision was finalized Monday night. And village officials will be going over the community input throughout the month.