Olivia Karavatakis just wants fair rules when it comes to regulating what she describes as her passion: renting her home to guests for short-term stays.
Karavatakis, an energy efficiency consultant, has regularly rented her two-story Highland Park “Sunshine House” through internet-based booking site Airbnb for three years. How she handles the business side of things will change if the Chattanooga City Council passes legislation establishing a special short-term vacation rental district in the city’s core and Lookout Valley.
When Karavatakis joined the host community, all she had to do was list her home online. If the new short-stay rules go into effect, she will need to get a short-term vacation rental permit and a business license and pay hotel-motel taxes.
“I think this ordinance they are creating is a lot better than when they started,” Karavatakis said during a tour of her home.
When the city council first considered new short-stay legislation last fall, she and other host operators feared they might wind up in the same league as hotels and motels when it came to fire and safety requirements. They said their homes should not be treated the same as multistory hotels.