Airbnb.com lists well over 7,000 listings with 5,232 unique hosts for those listings in and around Austin! Now that we've got the headline numbers out of the way, let's get into the scope of what I'm analyzing here, because I'm not analyzing all of it.

I'm focusing only on corporate hosts with potential violations at this point. Room only listings are marked on the map but I don't show host information for those listings. Likewise, hosts with less than 1 "entire" home, apartment, condo, etc. are by default left out of the hosts filters. Later, I will add the hosts with 1 listing back in only if they meet my definition of being a party house: they're listed over allowed occupancy, list party amenities, or invite events to their listings.

Let's start with the boring stuff: none of this is evidence of a violation of any law or regulation. This data is for entertainment purposes only and does not prove any violation occurred. Before you report a violation, please confirm the details yourself by visiting any relevant listing. If you spot an error, please tell me and I'll correct it ASAP! Also note: it's very hard to prove any violation occurred in Austin because an exact address is not given for any license on the list. We really need to put pressure on the elected officials for more transparency regarding the license situation.

Here's the map: https://stvr-doorman.github.io/Austin_TX_STVRs/austin_site/index.html

Without further explanation, these are the hosts with the most license numbers missing from the listings: (as of 10/1/2026)

Hosts with missing license numbers

I have gone through and verified that a handful of properties here do not appear to be in a licensed address block. But verifying the addresses of many of these properties is something for which I can really use your help!

How? each listing has a link to submit an address for that listing. If you do so, I can update the map, and we can home in on unlicensed and non-compliant corporate hosts.

I've deliberately excluded every host that has not taken a home off the market, and I'm currently not focusing on any host with only 1 listing on Airbnb.

Austin doesn't publish licensed locations, but only licensed address blocks, so those show up as:

All we know is there's one license in this block!

Listings that are for a room or partial unit show up only as tiny eyes.

Just doing some basic math, we have 3,468 listings that are managed by hosts with more than 1 listing, but only 3048 licenses. That means of the "corporate hosts", a minimum of 420 listings are unlicensed. This works out to 12% of all listings on Airbnb.com operated by hosts with multiple listings being non-compliant or unlicensed. Also, only ~153 listings are possibly hotels, so even removing those from the 420 count, we still have near double digits percentage of unlicensed corporate hosts!

If we include the listings that I'm not focusing on, you'd have 60% unlicensed listings on Airbnb.com! Don't ask me to try and help expose the locations of those, unless they are operating as a party house.

If you'd like to help, please submit address proof for listings, or share any open records you may have already received. And a reminder: I'm not focusing on small time hosts, so don't waste your time there. Focus on the big players with double digits first!

I'm wrapping up my investigation into Nashville for now, I'll need to work on the page and receive community input to make it much better than it is now.

First, I've adjusted the potentially unlicensed count to be pretty conservative. Let's say a conservative estimate is that there are around 100 unlicensed listings.

Why am I estimating so few now? I found there were a few hotels advertising listings on Airbnb. It is my understanding a hotel does not need a STVR permit.

How can this number change? A few ways! Some people call their listings hotels when they aren't. For example, if you filter the listing type to tiny homes, you'll see one host that has hotel in the title, but they're not hotels, require permits, and the host has permits.

So, there may be listings marked as hotels that are not hotels, and listings not marked as hotels that are hotels.

All data here is for entertainment purposes only, and any status here does not indicate any sort of violation occurred. But you can see my progress here: Nashville STR map.

How can you find potentially unlicensed permits? find listings on the map with no green plots around! These listings should by default have a warning symbol near them. They also likely feature the privacy radius and you'll notice it doesn't overlap a green permitted parcel. Take this for example:

The green permitted parcel is for a hotel / inn with a listing.

The website also uses nickname to name matching. Many hosts use nicknames, I was able to pull all nearby property records and match nicknames to a parcel based on that. So you can find the likely related parcel:

Perfect nickname to name match!

Here we have another perfect nickname to parcel property owner match, and in this case, two matches because both are listed as hosts and both are listed as property owners!

https://preview.redd.it/bsm7duypj7th1.png?width=1260&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6a189953d19e99a10108adf9c8f792a1d231305

So I can definitely say there are unpermitted rentals in Nashville, but, not as many as I once thought possible.

Perhaps a bigger issue is the over capacity listings! You have many examples of covert capacity, such as this host, who is legally compliant with the advertised occupancy, but then lists there being 15 beds:

covert capacity

I've never personally known one person to need two beds in one night.

I've worked on a party filter. You can find listings over capacity (not always correct because some listings combine 2 or more units) that advertise party amenities. In my town, I've found that being listed over legal capacity and having the word "bar" in the listing anywhere is associated with 4x more police calls to the residence! It makes sense. large groups of drunk people can be a nuisance or danger.

Here's a party pad that appears to violate capacity rules:

https://preview.redd.it/6ryb18gcl7th1.png?width=457&format=png&auto=webp&s=1037a7858283f2b7d86aeeb38e01aadec90a6193

the occupancy limits are 2 per bedroom plus 4 more. That's pretty generous as it is IMO. Advertising with party in the title is kinda nuts to me! Seems to be inviting trouble.

Anyways! I thought there would be potentially many more unlicensed rentals, but the hotels sort of ate into that number a bit.

Play around with the site if you're bored, and share what you find!

Ideas, tips, suggestions? let me know!

And remember, nothing that I've done verifies any type of violations occurred anywhere. It's all hypothetical based on data that is about a week old and aging at this point.

As the title says, I bought the Airbnb party house owners' business name domain. It is: www.cozycornerrentals.com Currently, it redirects to a free github site, and github is currently down like 20% of the time lol. But the dude has had bed bugs, shooting, hookers running bordellos, overflowing sewage after broken grinder pumps, and more on his property.

I'm thinking of making a fake wifi hotspot named "Airbnb-wifi" and putting a captive portal to a website with things like "What guests are saying" and having a slideshow of the reviews mentioning bed bugs, and calling it the bed bug bordello.

I'm sure you guys can come up with better ideas tho! And I'm eager to hear them!

FWIW, the site with the reviews mentioning the bed bugs is here: Game Room - 100 inch projector - By Marsh, Savannah (updated prices 2027)
if you reverse image search the guests who left reviews, (don't do it, I'm warning you!) you will understand why I call it the bed bug bordello.

#1: We have a huge data problem. Austin's list does not give exact addresses for the licensed locations, but approximate blocks. Nevertheless, they list 3011 licenses:

https://preview.redd.it/qcc861t9x3sh1.png?width=1174&format=png&auto=webp&s=fe7f52f0ed2b45f24f97281afb71a0d005981c80

Here's what the data looks like, there's no exact addresses:

https://preview.redd.it/mpgsoz0fx3sh1.png?width=977&format=png&auto=webp&s=38416094be6243860443d9b95edc791a2216d46c

Austin seems to have a little bit of a problem with unlicensed rentals! I've made a preliminary map here, and I'll be working on it in weeks to come if I get a license list with actual addresses in it. You can view my preliminary results here: Austin · Preliminary rental map

I have requested the full Short Term Vacation Rentals list with actual addresses, but haven't heard back yet.

The preliminary results do include some listings of neighboring jurisdictions, and I'll be finalizing that in the weeks to come if I can get a license list with addresses from the city:

https://preview.redd.it/2jqgdlcsx3sh1.png?width=479&format=png&auto=webp&s=67e6b829d327b67c3989c81ec38260462b479d18

What does this amount to in terms of $?
If all of these properties got registered tomorrow, Austin would collect over $6M in license fee revenue. The recurring license revenue would be much lower than that. A renewal costs 1/2 the price, and a license lasts 2 years.

Things are just getting started, and it's going to be quite a bit of work! I've already determined that there are up to 1479 unlicensed rentals on Airbnb.com alone, and I'll work on hammering down an exact number. This means that up to ~21% of all Airbnb listings in Nashville are unlicensed!

What does this mean for taxes? Possibly not much. It depends on if additional taxes like any business taxes are owned above and beyond what Airbnb claims to automatically remit to the state of TN and any local governments. However, with licenses costing $313, this is a license fee shortfall of up to $462,927.00.

It's not a lot when you consider the town budget, but it's not nothing either. It could go to funding a better STVR permitting, management, and complaint platform, with a few hundred thousand left over.

I started by pulling the permits list, source #1. Then, I filtered it for only approved and pending licenses. There are 7054 rows, subtract the headers and we're at 7053 licenses.

https://preview.redd.it/4ntu5rew43sh1.png?width=778&format=png&auto=webp&s=a71e89c17e41cc1690c0d14e5c3d282b7a1d5885

Yet, I've uncovered 8533 listings in the area. It should be noted that there is some overlap with other jurisdictions and I haven't narrowed the exact locations down yet. Also keep in mind: many hosts use a privacy radius! This means the actual rental location can be ~ 500m away from where it appears on the map. This means we may have some extra listings, and some missing listings.

You can see the preliminary results here: michaelwoodc.github.io/Nashville_TN_stvrs/preliminary_results/preliminary_permit_difference_map.html

Want to help? Message me! Tell me your story! If you have experience working with computers, storage space, or compute power (I need a good GPU to run a program I'm developing to unmask these addresses) I could definitely use your help.

Coming up: occupancy analysis, violation counts, unlicensed heat maps, and address unmasking. Let's bust the unlicensed guys!

Sources:

1. Residential Short Term Rental Permits | Nashville Open Data
2. Airbnb.com

Chatham County STVR Auto-Matched License Map

I have been working on collecting data for quite some time to determine the likely unlicensed properties in our unincorporated county that are listed on Airbnb.com. I've determined that there are likely over 100 unlicensed properties, which means that roughly 30% of all Airbnb listings in our county are operating without a license! Hosts can be pretty sneaky, and often avoid including street view photographs or pictures of the front of the house when they are operating without one.

Some representatives and county employees seem interested in tackling this problem, so it looks hopeful!

In the meantime, I could really use your help. If you live near an Airbnb, you can view this map, report its location, and the page will automatically update. This way, we can have a completely accurate count of the total number of unlicensed listings within the unincorporated county.

The software and code are all free and open source, meaning you can easily implement it for your own region with a GitHub account and the right geography data.

Also, our county lacks good tax records on these short-term rentals. It is possible that, like the situation in Hochatown, Oklahoma (staystra.com/hochatown-airbnb-lodging-tax-lawsuit-2026), our county's tax dollars are being misrouted to other jurisdictions. Why? Our county manages numerous multi-jurisdictional zip codes, and Airbnb routes taxes based on zip codes! To help illustrate this point, I've added checkboxes to the map to show zip boundaries and highlight overlapping areas.

IDK how to express this with my partner, and maybe my fears are overblown. We've been together for a few months and she wants to explore together. I'm all down for exploring. However, their idea of exploring is going on vacation, to "forget" about our responsibilities for a while, let go, and be adventurous. That in itself is a turn on to me, and I welcomed the idea.

Until it turned into their plan of going to an Airbnb marketed as a "kink cabin".

Am I right to be worried about being tied up to objects and being against surfaces that were just used by other people a night or two before? I always imagine the more intimate the situation, the more it needs to be under our (my?) control and cleanliness standards.

She found one Airbnb literally marked as: "Kink Cabin, Hot Tub, Playroom" and I've left the conversation for tonight as: "let me get back to you on Friday when I know what my weekend looks like".

It just feels icky to get a place like this. I'd rather be in a hotel on vacation using toys and restraints from a local sex shop.

I hate to turn down her idea but it hits a massive hygienic brick wall with me and I'm not sure if I'm overreacting.

Is my fear of STD's overblown? Or am I overreacting?

The problem isn't her, or the idea, but when I see the listing and know other people used it for that, it kinda creeps me out.

I have a camera pole which is great but the cameras get rain on the lenses then they're worthless. I need some type of rain cover for the cameras to prevent the lenses from getting water on them. At least a 10" diameter, literally something like a mini umbrella would work.

Do any such things exist?

Edit: I think I'll try a squirrel baffle!

We live next-door to an Airbnb / VRBO which has caused us nothing but problems. Currently the sewage is overflowing. It has a grinder pump system which has been damaged, and the owner is still booking it for stays, and parties! It gets jammed up whenever someone flushes something the pump can't grind up, then it overflows. County refuses to shut this place down!

current issue:

Owners response (yesterday): I'll have someone come tomorrow

The previous guests left. I spoke with the cleaners today. They said they were cleaning for the next set of guests. The owner and VRBO both never bothered to cancel anything, and sewage is flowing in the back yard.

For reference, Airbnb never paid for damage from shootings or guests driving and getting stuck and damaging neighboring lawns:

https://preview.redd.it/6h4bzlhhpogh1.jpg?width=1275&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6b2b1487834dfe6406757b15ece3c5d982a4349

The owner doesn't care; I'm currently filing a lawsuit against him for having a nuisance property.

Here's some of the neighbors interviewing with a few news stations:

https://youtu.be/r2nPxOJlNd0?si=BjFWctP8S8M7Q5la

‘Inches Away’: Savannah neighbors react to bullets flying through windows in Airbnb shootout

Chatham Co. Police investigating after nearly 40 shots fired from rental property

Shooting at short-term vacation rental in Chatham County raises concern

Nuts! An Airbnb (currently delisted) / VRBO (also currently delisted) / STVR owner will do nothing to stop profiting at the expense of the neighborhood!

VRBO party statement

Airbnb event statement

He books his places for bachelorette parties:

https://preview.redd.it/09vm6wfiqogh1.png?width=809&format=png&auto=webp&s=489f3bdf7f1e27599a0639fae2d886c629af5f2f

The avarice never ends!

Airbnb doesn't make it easy to archive page copies for enforcement or legal actions, and honestly, it's a mess. If you live near a nuisance short-term rental, you know the drill: after a large party or disruptive event, hosts will often quietly update or scrub their listing descriptions to "lay low." Standard copy-pasting leaves you with little proof of what the listing actually advertised when the issues happened.

I suspect this is entirely deliberate on Airbnb's part, as they also actively block the Internet Archive from saving their pages, leaving residents with very few reliable ways to document non-compliant problem properties on their platform.

To solve this, I put together a Tampermonkey script that automates clean documentation:

• Full Description Injection: Instead of hiding content behind a "Show more" modal, it pulls the full text right into the main page view so it gets captured in a single page snapshot.
• Expanded Layouts: Expands sleeping arrangement carousels into a clean grid view.
• Clean Review Export: Adds an export button that strips out platform clutter, expands hidden review text, and formats everything, which is especially helpful when reviews mention parties and the host's public replies welcome them back.

Together, this gives you reliable, comprehensive page snapshots of how a listing looked on any given date.

To use it, you'll need the Tampermonkey extension installed and developer mode enabled in your browser (the extension will guide you through the initial setup).

// ==UserScript==
//          Airbnb - Combined Full Suite (Desc + Sleep + Clean Export + Auto Expand)
//     http://tampermonkey.net/
//       5.0
//   Injects full description, expands sleeping arrangements, auto-expands description, and exports reviews cleanly.
//         https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/*
// u/grant        none
// ==/UserScript==

(function() {
    'use strict';

    // ----------------- AUTO-EXPAND DESCRIPTION "SHOW MORE" -----------------
    function autoExpandDescription() {
        let clicked = false;

        const tryClick = () => {
            if (clicked) return;

            const btn = [...document.querySelectorAll("button")]
                .find(b => b.innerText.trim().toLowerCase() === "show more");

            if (btn) {
                btn.click();
                clicked = true;
            }
        };

        // Try immediately
        tryClick();

        // Try repeatedly for React re-renders
        const interval = setInterval(() => {
            tryClick();
            if (clicked) clearInterval(interval);
        }, 500);

        // MutationObserver fallback
        const mo = new MutationObserver(() => tryClick());
        mo.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });
    }

    window.addEventListener("load", () => {
        setTimeout(autoExpandDescription, 1200);
    });

    // ----------------- PART 1: DESCRIPTION INJECTOR -----------------
    const modalObserver = new MutationObserver((mutations) => {
        const modal = document.querySelector("div[role='dialog']");
        if (modal) {
            const descSection = document.querySelector("div[data-section-id='DESCRIPTION_DEFAULT']");
            const isDescModal = modal.innerText.includes("About this space");

            if (descSection && isDescModal && !descSection.querySelector(".injected-full-description")) {

                // Auto-expand inside modal too
                [...modal.querySelectorAll("button")].forEach(b => {
                    if (b.innerText.trim().toLowerCase() === "show more") b.click();
                });

                const fullHTML = modal.innerHTML;
                const closeBtn = modal.querySelector("button[aria-label='Close']");
                if (closeBtn) closeBtn.click();

                const originalText = descSection.querySelector("div[style*='-webkit-line-clamp']");
                if (originalText) originalText.style.display = "none";

                const displayDiv = document.createElement("div");
                displayDiv.className = "injected-full-description";
                displayDiv.innerHTML = fullHTML;
                displayDiv.style.margin = "20px 0";
                descSection.appendChild(displayDiv);
            }
        }
    });
    modalObserver.observe(document.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });

    // ----------------- PART 2: EXPANDED SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS -----------------
    function renderSleepingArrangementsExpanded() {
        const carouselList = document.querySelector("ul.omd1zsm");
        if (!carouselList || document.querySelector(".injected-sleep-grid")) return;

        const gridContainer = document.createElement("div");
        gridContainer.className = "injected-sleep-grid";
        gridContainer.style.cssText =
            "display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(300px, 1fr)); gap: 20px; margin-top: 20px;";

        const items = Array.from(carouselList.querySelectorAll("li"));
        items.forEach(item => {
            item.style.flex = "none";
            item.style.maxWidth = "100%";
            gridContainer.appendChild(item);
        });

        const parentSection = document.querySelector("section[aria-roledescription='carousel']");
        if (parentSection) {
            parentSection.innerHTML = "";
            parentSection.appendChild(gridContainer);
        }
    }

    window.addEventListener("load", () => {
        setTimeout(renderSleepingArrangementsExpanded, 2000);
    });

    // ----------------- PART 3: SURGICAL REVIEW EXPORT -----------------
    setInterval(() => {
        if (document.getElementById("airbnb-review-export-btn")) return;
        const panel = document.querySelector("div[data-testid='pdp-reviews-modal-scrollable-panel']");
        if (!panel) return;

        const btn = document.createElement("button");
        btn.id = "airbnb-review-export-btn";
        btn.textContent = "Export Reviews (Expanded)";
        btn.style.cssText =
            "position:fixed; top:80px; right:20px; z-index:999999; padding:10px 14px; background:#ff385c; color:white; border-radius:6px; cursor:pointer; font-weight:bold;";

        btn.onclick = () => {
            panel.querySelectorAll("button").forEach(b => {
                if (b.innerText.trim().toLowerCase() === "show more") b.click();
            });

            setTimeout(() => {
                const reviews = Array.from(panel.querySelectorAll('[data-review-id]'));
                const popup = window.open("", "_blank");

                const cleanContent = (html) => {
                    let cleaned = html
                        .replace(/<button[\s\S]*?<\/button>/g, '')
                        .replace(/·/g, '')
                        .replace(/\d+\s*(weeks|months|years|days)?\s*ago/gi, '');

                    let tempDiv = document.createElement('div');
                    tempDiv.innerHTML = cleaned;

                    const walk = document.createTreeWalker(tempDiv, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT, null, false);
                    let node, toRemove = [];
                    while (node = walk.nextNode()) {
                        if (node.nodeValue.replace(/,/g, '').trim() === '') toRemove.push(node);
                    }
                    toRemove.forEach(n => n.remove());

                    return tempDiv.innerHTML.replace(/(<br\s*\/?>\s*){2,}/gi, '<br>');
                };

                popup.document.write(`
                    <html>
                    <body>
                        <h2>Airbnb Reviews</h2>
                        ${reviews.map(r =>
                            `<div style="margin-bottom:20px; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;">${cleanContent(r.innerHTML)}</div>`
                        ).join('')}
                        <script>setTimeout(window.print, 1000);</script>
                    </body>
                    </html>
                `);
                popup.document.close();
            }, 1500);
        };

        document.body.appendChild(btn);
    }, 3000);

})();

What you'll get is this:

Huge Airbnb description in the main page, no need to copy and paste the text!

To export the reviews, click on the "Show all" button in the reviews section. They will pop up in the modal window. Next, scroll down to load all of the reviews (Airbnb uses infinite scroll / lazy loading (until everything is loaded).

https://preview.redd.it/3tmglp9zlegh1.png?width=861&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8c85005a6ed63b8f2ab3ce28d59b97c6f360f1b

The review export isn't pretty, there's a few kinks to work out like the extra stars in there, but you'd get one single page with every review visible, perfect to print as a PDF for your records!

Hope this helps anyone document problem properties and bad hosts that may be causing problems in their area.

Almost forgot the location (estimatation) script:

// ==UserScript==
//          Airbnb Lat/Lng + SAGIS
//     http://tampermonkey.net/
//       2.0
//   Extract listing coordinates from Airbnb page without loading the map.
//         https://www.airbnb.com/*
// u/grant        none
// ==/UserScript==

(function() {
    'use strict';

    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    // 1. Floating UI (minimal)
    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    const box = document.createElement('div');
    box.style.cssText = `
        position:fixed;
        top:80px;
        right:20px;
        z-index:999999;
        background:rgba(0,0,0,0.85);
        color:white;
        padding:12px 16px;
        border-radius:8px;
        font-size:14px;
        font-family:Arial, sans-serif;
        cursor:move;
        box-shadow:0 0 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);
    `;
    box.innerHTML = `
        <b>Listing Lat/Lng:</b><br>
        <span id="coordsText">Waiting…</span><br><br>

        <button id="copyUrlBtn" style="padding:4px 8px; cursor:pointer; margin-bottom:6px;">
            Copy URL
        </button><br>

        <button id="copyCoordsBtn" style="padding:4px 8px; cursor:pointer; margin-bottom:6px;">
            Copy SAGIS Format (lng,lat)
        </button><br>

        <button id="sagisBtn" style="padding:4px 8px; cursor:pointer;">
            Open SAGIS & Copy (lng,lat)
        </button>
    `;
    document.body.appendChild(box);

    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    // 2. Extract coordinates from Airbnb JSON (no map needed)
    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    let lastLat = null;
    let lastLng = null;

    function extractCoordsFromJSON() {
        // Airbnb embeds JSON in <script id="data-state"> or similar
        const scripts = document.querySelectorAll("script[type='application/json'], script[data-state]");
        for (const s of scripts) {
            try {
                const json = JSON.parse(s.innerText);

                // Deep search for lat/lng inside listing data
                const listing = JSON.stringify(json);

                // Regex to find "lat": 32.12345, "lng": -81.12345
                const latMatch = listing.match(/"lat"\s*:\s*([0-9\.\-]+)/);
                const lngMatch = listing.match(/"lng"\s*:\s*([0-9\.\-]+)/);

                if (latMatch && lngMatch) {
                    lastLat = Number(latMatch[1]).toFixed(5);
                    lastLng = Number(lngMatch[1]).toFixed(5);

                    document.getElementById("coordsText").innerText =
                        `${lastLat}, ${lastLng}`;

                    return true;
                }
            } catch (e) {}
        }
        return false;
    }

    // Poll until coordinates found
    const poller = setInterval(() => {
        if (extractCoordsFromJSON()) {
            clearInterval(poller);
        }
    }, 500);

    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    // 3. Buttons
    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    document.getElementById("copyUrlBtn").onclick = () => {
        navigator.clipboard.writeText(window.location.href);
    };

    document.getElementById("copyCoordsBtn").onclick = () => {
        if (lastLat && lastLng) {
            const sagisFormat = `${lastLng}, ${lastLat}`; // lng,lat
            navigator.clipboard.writeText(sagisFormat);
        }
    };

    document.getElementById("sagisBtn").onclick = () => {
        if (lastLat && lastLng) {
            const sagisFormat = `${lastLng}, ${lastLat}`; // lng,lat
            navigator.clipboard.writeText(sagisFormat);
        }

        window.open("https://www.sagis.org/?page=SAGIS-Viewer", "_blank");
    };

    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    // 4. Draggable UI
    // ---------------------------------------------------------
    let isDragging = false, offsetX, offsetY;
    box.onmousedown = (e) => {
        isDragging = true;
        offsetX = e.clientX - box.offsetLeft;
        offsetY = e.clientY - box.offsetTop;
    };
    document.onmousemove = (e) => {
        if (isDragging) {
            box.style.left = (e.clientX - offsetX) + "px";
            box.style.top = (e.clientY - offsetY) + "px";
            box.style.right = "auto";
        }
    };
    document.onmouseup = () => isDragging = false;

})();

I do not mean to suggest you should become a problematic STVR host. That is the very thing this place is dedicated to getting rid of.

However, I can tell you this. In my area of town, after we experienced violent crimes at a problematic STVR and had two neighbors almost killed, I heard murmurings that my activism and the awareness drawn to the issue were creating quite the stir in the STVR owner community.

What did I do? I had asked someone to sign up to be an Airbnb host. They did not actually host anyone, and had it "disabled" or out of view or whatever. (You can do this without needing a license in certain areas if you only offer a spare bedroom, not an entire place or unit.)

Nevertheless, what we got by having them infiltrate the STVR platform and community was pure gold.

Not only did it give insider information into how these platforms work so we know exactly what tools hosts have at their disposal to prevent things like parties, (minimum length of stay, etc) but we got on the Airbnb mailing list or whatever they call it.

Low and behold, Airbnb scheduled a zoom conference with all of the hosts in the nearby area and gave them talking points to go to the next meeting on the matter. The hosts? They all showed up, and outnumbered those opposed to the issue by like 10:1.

It's hard to get that many people in a grass roots movement to show up against people like Airbnb hosts who have the luxury of still earning an income while not at work.

In my experience, to have the in person show of force, it's necessary to have a lot more people interested in it from the grass roots issue, and I hope we outnumber the hosts at future meetings on these issues.

What have I been doing other than infiltrating the STVR host platforms? Going door to door! I've found all of the listings that are advertised over capacity, and just went door to door.

I asked and said things like:

1. "have you had any problems with parties or large gatherings with the place next-door to you?"
2. "have you checked the listing for the property next-door?" (have a print out with highlights)
3. "did you know the listing next-door is listed at ## over the legal occupancy limit?"
4. "I suggest you follow the (local government's) social media page and the meeting agenda (I had a scannable QR code for both), and contact your district rep (had a QR code for that too).

Airbnb already has mailing lists in place of financially motivated players. I feel we need to do a few things:

1. Spread awareness about the scope of the problem
2. go door to door and "rally the troops" around these problem places. Many are strangely unaware that the owners are inviting large groups over the occupancy level, or advertising as party friendly
3. Infiltrate the STVR groups
4. gain insider knowledge from "disgruntled former employees" of real estate companies, STVR cleaning companies, and STVR management companies
5. gain insider knowledge from good STVR owners. Some may be willing to show up and speak up against these harmful STVR practices from an owner's perspective.

If you have thoughts or suggestions, please share them below!

How to Research Potential Owner-Occupied STVR Compliance Issues Using Public Records

Disclaimer: This guide describes research techniques using publicly available information. The purpose is to identify listings that may warrant additional review, not to conclude that any violation has occurred. Public records and online listings can be incomplete or outdated, and there may be lawful explanations for apparent inconsistencies. Always verify information through the appropriate local authority before drawing conclusions.

1. Obtain the Local STVR License List

Start with your municipality's official short-term rental license database or public portal. Look for information such as:

• Permit number
• License type (Owner-Occupied vs. Non-Owner-Occupied)
• Property address
• Maximum occupancy
• Number of bedrooms
• License holder

2. Locate the Corresponding Rental Listings

Search Airbnb, VRBO, and other vacation rental platforms for the licensed addresses. Compare the listing information with the official records.

Items to compare include:

• Number of bedrooms
• Maximum guest count
• Entire home vs. private room
• Host information
• Property description

3. Search for Additional Listings by the Same Host

Use search engines to locate additional listings associated with the same host.

Useful search techniques include:

• Using search operators such as site:airbnb.com
• Searching the host's display name in quotes
• Including phrases unique to that host, such as "6 years hosting" or another thing consistent across all of their listings
• Example google search phrase: site:airbnb.com "Savannah, Georgia" "Host name" "# years hosting"

This can help identify multiple listings that appear to be operated by the same person.

4. Compare License Types

If multiple properties appear to be associated with the same host, compare the license classifications & addresses.

Questions to consider include:

• Are multiple properties licensed as owner-occupied?
• Are the listings advertised as entire rentals?
• Does anything appear inconsistent with the local ordinance?

An apparent inconsistency is not proof of a violation and may have a legitimate explanation.

5. Review Public Property Records

Many counties provide public GIS or tax assessor records. For Savannah, we have: https://www.sagis.org/?page=SAGIS-Viewer

These records may show:

• Property ownership
• Parcel information
• Ownership history

6. Compare Occupancy Information

Review whether the occupancy advertised on rental platforms appears consistent with:

• Local occupancy limits
• Number of bedrooms
• Information shown on the permit (many times they exceed the permit)

If there are differences, note them for further verification.

7. Check for any obvious mistakes

Consider whether there may be another explanation.

Examples include:

• Multi-unit properties & combo listings, where one listing is covered under multiple permits & the occupancies add up (min is 4 adults for a single bedroom, and 2 per bedroom over that amount)
• Recently updated permits

9. Report Potential Issues Through Official Channels

If you believe there may be a compliance issue, submit your findings to the appropriate local agency responsible for enforcing short-term rental regulations. In Savannah, it is: https://complaints-str.deckard.com/savannah-ga-str-complaints/

10. Contact City Officials and Ask For More Enforcement Resources!

Enforcement seems understaffed in Savannah. Please be patient!

https://preview.redd.it/6szkg7r4g4fh1.png?width=944&format=png&auto=webp&s=e23f82987f10215962e51d03f28f38af589180b4

Party houses used to be all the rage, until AirBNB started cracking down. Now, hosts are pivoting to advertising as "Kink Cabin"s, and it's sorta a hilarious thought. Imagine renting a place to get tied up with the same equipment other guests used nights before.

I'm not sure how transmittable STD's are, as I've managed to go my entire lifetime without contracting one, but it seems like a bad idea to rent a "kink cabin" an unknown couple was using just nights before. I wonder what this place would look like under a UV light.

I'd love to see your examples!