Airbnb execs to attend meetings on Noosa Council’s short-stay accommodation proposal

Airbnb executives will be in Noosa next week to highlight their concerns with the controversial proposed rules for holiday homes and units.

Airbnb executives will be in Noosa next week to highlight their concerns with the controversial proposed rules for holiday homes and units.

Noosa Council is calling for public comments on a draft strategy aimed at cracking down on the short stay accommodation industry.

It proposes new rules for property owners including that they apply for annual registration, keep a record of complaints and have a manager who lives within 20 minutes of the home or unit.

Airbnb Australia head of public policy Derek Nolan said he looked forward to hearing from hosts during a meeting on Monday about how it would impact them.

Mr Nolan will also meet with stakeholders and “ensure their voices are heard”.

“Airbnb’s view remains that fair and balanced statewide rules are the best way to address this broader issue, help boost tourism and economic recovery in Queensland and ensure local businesses are not deprived of valuable tourism dollars that help them support jobs,” Mr Nolan said.

Noosa Chamber of Commerce president Rob Neely said hosts and neighbours did not want noisy homes but the council’s proposal was “a complete overreach”.

Mr Neely said the proposal used old planning rules and ignored new technology that could be beneficial in reducing noise.

He said there were issues with the rules proposed for home-hosted accommodation and short-stay letting.

Home-hosted accommodation is where rooms are rented but the homeowners are still on the property.

“The proposed planning laws that noosa council has proposed for home hosted is an overreach from here to Melbourne because home-hosted accommodation is not an issue at all,” he said.

“With short stay letting some properties have had issues with noise, there’s no doubt about that.

“But no one at all, no resident who lives here wants a neighbour with a noise problem, that’s the fundamental issue as to why these new rules are being developed.”

Mr Neely said a better way to address concerns would be for properties that have had multiple complaints to have noise monitoring equipment installed.

“Even if they put (the local laws) through in its current state it’s not going to solve anything,” he said.

“It’s going to create an enormous amount of cost and anguish, when we can use technology to solve this.”

Residents have called on council to take a hard-line approach to protect the lifestyle they have long enjoyed.

Sunshine Beach resident Julia Craddock lives next door to a holiday rental and said they should be treated like businesses.

“There’s a difference between hotels, motels and backpackers and now we essentially have hotels run out of residential homes,” she said.

Noosa Council this week extended consultation until May 28 due to the high level of interest.

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Originally published as Airbnb execs to attend meetings on Noosa Council’s short-stay accommodation proposal