Agenda - 06-16-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 1 State of North Carolina will be seeking to regulate usage of AirBnB. She said Hillsborough has 2 427 private homeowners that rent their homes out to visitors. She said these private homes 3 erode both the Bed and Breakfast and traditional hotel markets. She said on May 7th, the 4 Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce is bringing in the President of the North Carolina Restaurant 5 and Lodging Issue to discuss the impact on Orange County. She said AirBnB has eradicated 6 the need for traditional Bed and Breakfasts. 7 Laurie Paolicelli mentioned the following projects on which the Bureau is currently 8 working: 9 • Prototype for Hillsborough — an app and brochure being created with Annie Baggett 10 around a "handmade and homegrown" tourism marketing campaign. 11 • How and where to put a visitor kiosk at the new UNC Hospital in Hillsborough. She said 12 there is currently no visitor information there and this will be a new point of entry to 13 Hillsborough. 14 • Working closely with Ayr Mount and Moorefields and the rich history offered within 15 Hillsborough. 16 • Genealogy series interviewing locals on the history of Orange County. 17 18 Laurie Paolicelli said Hillsborough will be seen in many state ads and other state tourism 19 magazines. She added overall press is very positive at this time. She expressed the Bureau's 20 desire to be an ongoing partner to the Town and the County. 21 Jenn Weaver said she understands how AirBnB could hurt the local Bed and Breakfast 22 and the traditional hotel community, but wonders if AirBnB can also bring in people that may not 23 be able come here otherwise by lowering the cost of a trip. 24 Laurie Paolicelli said this argument is made every day. She said with the current lack of 25 hotels in Hillsborough, AirBnB certainly does bring people to the area. She added that there 26 are also some very scary stories surrounding AirBnB and the difficulty of removing tenants or 27 damage done to homes. She said in this regards, it hurts the community and hurts businesses 28 that follow the rules regarding health, safety and ADA guidelines. 29 Mayor Stevens said he had an opportunity to work with a group called the Mayor's 30 Innovation Project, including Mayors from around the Country. He said this group has taken up 31 the issues of Uber and AirBnB, both of which are national issues. He said there is growing 32 consensus about bringing these businesses into the regulatory body to insure appropriate 33 taxation and safety measures. 34 Kathleen Ferguson asked if the impact of AirBnB, on local hotels, is known. 35 Laurie Paolicelli said in towns with small hotels, or solely Bed and Breakfast 36 establishments, Airbnb have practically killed the industry. She said in Orange County there are 37 full service hoteliers. She said these hoteliers report small erosion at this time, but this may 38 change in the future. 39 Eric Hallman said Laurie Paolicelli is to thank for any success within the realm of 40 Hillsborough tourism. He said the 1 percent food and beverage tax as well as the 3 percent 41 occupancy tax are both being managed by volunteer boards. He said there is no Town staffing 42 to those boards. He said the upcoming budget includes a proposal to add Town staff that will 43 staff those Boards and give a more professional strategy to tourism. He said tourism in 44 Hillsborough has been overwhelming in the past year, and it is time to take advantage of the 45 attention the Town is now enjoying. 46 Eric Hallman handed out materials and shared some information on the North Carolina 47 Mountains to Sea Trail. He said this trail is extremely popular. He said one can get on the trail 48 in Clayton in Johnston County, walk on the trail through Wake and Durham Counties; but when 49 one arrives in Orange County, one must get off the trail and go out on the road. He said to the 50 west, in Alamance County, more trail miles are being added than in any other County in the