Vineyard vacation rental companies are advising clients to consider lowering their weekly rates in response to a large number of vacancies this season.
West Tisbury is now the first town on the Island to enact regulations around short-term rentals, though other towns have also started to consider the best way to handle the controversial properties.
Short-term rental restrictions, a change in town energy policy and $1.8 million in library renovations all top the warrant for West Tisbury annual town meeting next week.
A state Land Court ruling last week involving a Nantucket rental home could set a precedent for how municipalities on the Vineyard handle vacation rentals, Vineyard officials said.
While the number of vacation home rentals has exploded on Martha’s Vineyard since Covid, the proportion of lodging tax revenue from hotels grew sharply in the last two years, now accounting for about a third of lodging tax receipts Islandwide.
West Tisbury residents got a chance to weigh in on a proposed bylaw to regulate short term rentals in town at a joint meeting of the planning board and short-term rental committee Monday, Nov. 27.
