Short-Term Rental Management

The Parks Board has recently approved a new computer inventory system that strengthens the management of the revenue coming to the city through the hotel occupancy tax on these “little hotels.” We should begin calling them what they are - hotels - and treating them as such. 

There are over 5,000 of them on the island, with District 2 having the second most. There is no doubt that the tax revenue generated from STRs is beneficial in providing services targeting tourism in Galveston. 

However, they have a significant impact on the neighborhoods in which they reside. There are no families living there. There are no kids in schools. They don’t vote in our local elections. They are businesses - transforming our neighborhoods into blocks of hotels of strangers. 

There must be a balance between the quality of life of our residents, private property rights, and the economic benefit of STRs. As a community, we should evaluate what is most important to us in a neighborhood and develop communities through zoning and regulation of STRs that meet those goals. 

I restarted the STR Task Force in September 2023. The group meets regularly - carefully analyzing the current state, identifying gaps and inefficiencies, and developing solutions from simple data cleanup measures, to workflow processes and potential ordinance changes. The first recommendations will be presented at the February 2024 city council meeting, with work continuing through the year.