This November, Vail voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to increase short-term rental taxes by 6% to fund housing in and around Vail.
The Vail Town Council sent Issue 2A to the November ballot in August. If it passes, everyone who stays in a short-term rental in Vail will be required to pay an additional 6% on their stay when it goes into effect, even if the rental was booked before then. A study commissioned by the town of Vail in 2022 showed that about a third of the town's residential units are short-term rentals.
Since August, two opposing local campaigns have been raising and spending campaign funds to sway Vail voters. Vail Locals for Housing is in support of the measure, while the Vail Common Sense Housing Committee is opposed to it.
As of Monday at 5 p.m., Vail Locals for Housing had raised $11,600, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Vail Clerk's office.
As of Tuesday, the Vail Common Sense Housing Committee had raised $69,500. One donation in particular -- $30,000 from the international corporation Airbnb -- has raised eyebrows around town.
Both campaigns were launched by Vail locals, including residents, business owners and staff.
Vail Locals for Housing is made up of Vail residents and business owners advocating on behalf of 2A "to support housing programs and build a year-round community," according to the campaign's website.
Lindsea Stowe, a member of Vail Locals for Housing who is a Vail business owner and lives in a deed-restricted home, said much of her drive to support the ballot measure comes from wanting to see her employees be able to find the same success in housing in Vail that she did.
"So much has changed with housing, and I feel like this tax on short-term rentals can really help people ... to make it a little bit more feasible for them to be here long-term and contribute to the community year-round," Stowe said. "This tax is the most balanced effort to not curb how short-term rentals are doing their business, but allows them to contribute proportionately to the community that they rely on."
Vail Common Sense Housing Committee's 20 or so members are mostly general managers and other staff of condotels, condominium complexes that function similarly to hotels. Many of Vail's condotel unit owners put their units in the short-term rental pool for some of the year.
"We're coming together to protect our owners," said Amanda Cantrell, the general manager at Lodge Tower. "It's very unfair to be only taxing the short-term rentals and putting the burden of housing revenue on us."
The group is not against affordable housing, but members said affordable housing initiativesves in Vail can be funded in a better way.
"Everyone in this room is very for affordable housing," said Jessica Davis, general manager of Vail Spa Condominiums, referring to nine other committee members gathered for an interview. "We need it as well, we just think that there's a better solution. We think that this current proposal, 2A, has some unintended consequences that could be really detrimental to our sector of the lodging business in particular."
The committee's concern is that adding another 6% tax on short-term rentals, already taxed at 10.8%, will drive away the tourists that Vail needs to thrive.
"Although this affects us, on a greater scale, this affects everybody. This affects all the retail groups because our people, the short-term rental people, are the ones that come and spend money here," said Lance Hering, the general manager of Rentals at Vail.
Both campaigns received the majority of their donations from local individuals and organizations.
Vail Locals for Housing's campaign fundraising "has been miniscule compared to the opposition," Stowe said. "It has just been local donations who are passionate about housing."
Vail Common Sense Housing Committee has had greater success at fundraising, with its members citing the financial impact the ballot measure will have on the condotel community if it passes.
"It could be very detrimental to us, so that money that's getting put toward the campaign is absolutely worth the fight and educating people on what 2A is," said Sasha Hickox, the account manager for Mountain Haus.
When Airbnb committed $30,000 to Vail Common Sense Housing Committee on Oct. 15, it shifted the scales dramatically in the race between the two campaigns. According to campaign finance reports, the opposition campaign has also received sizeable donations from outside sources such as Colorado Building for Tomorrow ($17,000), which is based in Denver, and the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association ($5,000).
Despite the large outside donations, the Vail Common Sense Housing Committee emphasized that its campaign remained a local effort.
"I think they are an easy target for the opposition to paint a picture of an outside force," Zach Meyers, GM of Manor Vail, said of Airbnb's contribution. "This is a locally-driven effort, and we're grateful that they (Airbnb) have a stake in this too and see that a bad decision like this would impact them, and have been able to help us to fund what we think we need to do to get the right result.
"Across the country and at all levels of government, we back causes and candidates that champion home sharing and tourism," said an Airbnb spokesperson in response to the Vail Daily's request for comment.
This fall, Airbnb also contributed $30,000 to a campaign in Denver supporting the "Vibrant Denver Bond," a $950,000,000 general obligation bond the City Council plans to use for capital repairs and improvements. In 2022, Airbnb contributed $100,000 in support of the state legislature's Proposition 123, which created the State Affordable Housing Fund.
For Vail Locals for Housing, Airbnb's contribution raised eyebrows.
"A large corporation putting so much capital into such a small -- we're 5,000 people year-round -- such a small local election is heartbreaking," Stowe said.
Other big local players have jumped in on both sides -- Triumph Development, which is building Timber Ridge, Vail's 302-unit affordable housing development, donated to the Vail Locals for Housing campaign, while East West Hospitality has donated to the Vail Common Sense Housing Committee.
Vail Common Sense Housing Committee has had significantly higher expenditures.
In September, Vail Common Sense Housing Committee spent $13,000 on New Bridge Strategy, an Arvada-based research firm for "research," according to the campaign finance documents filed with the Vail Clerk's office.
Earlier this year, the town of Vail conducted a voter opinion survey that showed 69% of 506 respondents would be in favor of a 6% short-term rental tax dedicated to housing.
It was important to the committee to get a sense of whether these numbers were accurate before delving deeper into its campaign, members said.
"That didn't feel right to any of us, knowing that the 0.5 percent tax (approved by voters in 2023) was pretty close," Meyers said. Under the committee-funded polling, the data showed it "it was a lot closer than 70 percent" in support of the measure.
The Vail Common Sense Housing Committee has spent the bulk of its dollars on community outreach, from mailers to social media.
In September, the group spent $7,400 on "petitioning" through Black Diamond Outreach, a Lakewood-based marketing agency, and $6,000 on "mail" through 40 North Advocacy, a Pennsylvania-based communications and political consulting firm.
In October, Vail Common Sense Housing Committee spent $8,300 with 40 North Advocacy for "mail" and $5,300 with Northglenn-based video production company Stories Not Forgotten for "video production & photography."
Vail Locals for Housing's expenditures have been significantly lower, in line with its smaller funds. The group has not made as much of a marketing effort.
"I think we're just relying on the people of our community being honest and encouraging one another to do the right thing," Stowe said.
In September, Vail Locals for Housing paid $2,700 to Gypsum-based Resolution Graphics for "yard signs," and "website, mailers." The group's only expenditure in October was $3,800 to the same organization for "printing + mailing newspaper ad."
Leading up to the Nov. 4 election date, Stowe said she plans to continue her individual-based outreach effort.
"I'm just going to knock on doors and call every friend and ask them to vote," Stowe said. "I do think getting out for these local elections is actually really poignant and where your voice actually matters."
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