All Forum Posts by: Mitch Davidson

Hey @Tyler Davis. We have two BP meetups per month here in Asheville, one on the third Wednesday of the month (6PM at Hi-Wire in RAD) and one on the fourth Wednesday of the month (9AM at The Rhu). They're casual, and networking-focused. No membership, fees, RSVP, promotions, etc. Attendance varies quite a bit, from a handful to 30. AVL Meetup is a great, larger opportunity, if you haven't checked it out yet.

@John Whitfield. I haven't heard of an effective date yet, but it sounded like Spring of this year. I'm sure the topic will be raised this evening at the meeting. And I don't think they're taking applications yet, but you'll likely have to apply in person.

As you may be aware, the City of Asheville (about 2/3 of Asheville is in city limits; the rest is under county jurisdiction) has had strict STR regulations in place since 2016. Basically, you can't STR an entire home here, or even an ADU, and can only STR out a portion of a home that you reside in. Recently, Woodfin, which is just North of Asheville, under the leadership of some of the people that formerly lead Asheville's STR initiatives, adopted similar restrictions.

Last month, Buncombe County, which Asheville sits in the middle of, published plans to disallow STR's throughout the rest of the County. Property owners can apply for an STR permit now, before the effective date of the new plan, and can operate thereafter (i.e., be grandfathered). Their permit will not be transferable when they sell though, according to the draft plan. And commercial districts will be excluded from the restrictions, as will parcels in open use zoning (with a special use permit). The County is holding what will be their second public meeting on the topic this Monday, from 5:30PM until 7:30PM at AB Tech (and online).

Here is a link to the meeting: https://www.buncombecounty.org/countycenter/news-detail.aspx... 

And here is a link to the plan the County presented in the first meeting, last month: https://engage.buncombecounty.org/DownloadFile/ImportFile_00...

@Pete Morgan. I can give you insights on our towns and markets here, as well as intro's to great agents and other resources. I have an STR in Bryson City and an MTR in Asheville myself, have studied and shopped other markets, and have helped people buy many STR's here. Also, we have a casual BP meetup here on February 17 and 24 if you're interested. And there's another great, free REI meetup (AVL Meetup) on February 6.

@Alton Johnson. I think you're onto something...that VRBO is not currently investing much advertising spend in your market and is instead focusing elsewhere. Here's why I think that. I launched a new cabin in Bryson City, NC, not so far from Blue Ridge, on Airbnb 15 months ago, and on VRBO 11 months ago. Same listing. And about the same pricing (I use PriceLabs). So far, I've had 51 guest stays from Airbnb (4.96 stars) and only 5 from VRBO (5 stars). And I've had no VRBO bookings for several months, even after becoming a Premier host. I review and update my listings regularly, use all the features provided, post excellent photos, etc. I recently called VRBO to ask why things are so quiet with them vs. Airbnb, as I heard that such a call had helped others get rather turned back on in VRBO. They did a deep review of my listing and called me back. They said everything looked great, even my pricing. My conclusion therefore is that VRBO is consolidating its advertising focus on certain markets, and that your market and mine are not part of that focus.

@Jenny Westerhoff. Sorry to hear that the numbers aren't looking so good for you on this deal. Perhaps rates will continue to cool this year so that you can have increased competition in the Spring/Summer. On another note, that's awesome that you want to move here to Asheville. I'm happy to help you connect to people, resources, ideas, etc.

For anyone following the key word Asheville, we'd love to see you at our meetup this week (Wednesday 1/17, 6PM, Hi-Wire Brewing on Lyman in River Arts) or next week (Wednesday 1/24, 9AM, Upstairs at The Rhu). Our meetups are intentionally casual, and are focused on networking, learning, and comradery. No member fee, no presentation followed by sales pitch, etc. 

@Nick Mehl. Personally, I wouldn't worry about Maggie Valley adopting STR restrictions. It's a vacation town with barely any other revenue source.

@Nick Mehl: I would look further out. Buncombe County (Asheville sits in the middle of) just revealed that they're planning to soon disallow STR throughout the County, except for STR's that are grandfathered in by a special one-time permit. And I'll send you info for a builder I know.

@Tanya Manning. Welcome to WNC. :)