There is a housing crunch, and not a whole lot that can be done to really help easily ease the crisis, to be totally honest.  But there are some tweaks to the laws surrounding Airbnbs that could help a little, while still allowing people to do it, and make some money off of it.  This could help reduce the housing pressure that comes from losing single family homes to the airbnb market, as is often the case, especially in more touristy areas of the state, where lower income workers have a hard enough time finding places to buy or to rent.  Currently, airbnbs don’t have to meet the same safety standards of normal bed and breakfasts, or hotels, and so sort of have an unfair advantage when it comes to day-to-day rentals.  But they are basically functioning in the same way as bed and breakfasts, but without the same safeguards (like exit windows in case of fire) originally imposed for the good of the public. So, long story short, I propose: Houses/properties that haven’t been brought up to the safety standards required for normal B&Bs would have a one week minimum rental period. For properties that do meet the standards, they could be rented day to day.  I would propose a one year pause in enforcing the rule from when it goes in to effect, to give landlords some time to update their properties, or sell them if they do not want to comply or to switch to weekly rentals.  I would also propose an exception for unique architectural buildings, where--in the opinion of the average person-- implementing required changes would fundamentally alter the appearance or desirability of the property (buildings like the hobbit house here in Middletown Springs, presumably). I do think towns should have the right to regulate them further, so that we don’t effectively end up living next to hotels in what should be strictly residential areas, protecting the quality of life for existing residents. Anyhow, this should help make airbnbs just slightly less an attractive investment, to keep them from being snatched up by investors as quickly, and help maintain additional housing stock for long term rentals and home ownership.  But it would also still allow people to make money on the side doing it, or to step up and make the buildings safer and more accessible for all members of the public.  And it would also help level the playing field for all involved.