Short term rentals, or STRs, have become wildly popular, especially here in the county. They are usually inexpensive, hidden in plain sight, secluded and offer a sense of home away from home. As an outsider, it seems like a great way to experience all that Sullivan’s towns and villages have to offer. We are lucky to have so many options for travel and boarding, which turn the key towards tourism – one of our most prized and thriving industries.

But with the freedom and options that they provide from visitors of the county, there must also be accountability, assurance and sustainability, all in conjunction with the towns and villages that they reside in. In Forestburgh, after discussions shared between town employees and owners of STRs around the town, an agreement was struck regarding the annual fee now set at $500. 

This fee seems to be a fair number to fall on. As the town moves towards the registration and overall structure of maintaining STR’s, any dollar amount will assist the appropriate town offices in inspections and other necessary tasks. 

Besides allowing the town to keep tabs on its tourism industry in their own districts, the annual fee now in place is important to the health of the competitive spirit of the tourism industry. This fee works towards balancing the scales for other tourism-based businesses, as neighboring traditional hotels and motels must be regulated. 

And sure, Forestburgh does not have the hotels and motels that would require such a balance, but it is possible that the town will set precedents of their own regarding not only the fee’s amount but in how they took interest in what the STR owners had to say. This form of hospitality is on the rise and we hope to see both the town and rental owners benefit from the deal.