To the Editor:
For generations, Martha’s Vineyard’s tapestry of neighborhoods has played host to travelers from across the country and around the world — from First Families to middle-class travelers looking to enjoy an active summer vacation.
Airbnb is proud to be part of this historic tradition. Today, our platform provides many Martha’s Vineyard residents with the opportunity to earn supplemental income by sharing their own homes. In the past year, 240 hosts welcomed nearly 8,000 guests to the Island, with the typical host renting space for fewer than 2 nights a month.
By and large, these hosts are not full-time businesses running commercial operations. They are everyday people opening their homes from time to time to travelers.
Nearly 70 percent of Vineyard hosts are women, and over half are over the age of 50, highlighting how many hosts use supplemental income from extra bedrooms to “age in place” in the neighborhoods they call home.
Public safety for hosts, guests, and neighbors is our No. 1 priority at Airbnb. In fact, we have pioneered cutting-edge policies to ensure that home sharing is safe and secure, from background checks on hosts and guests, and a Verified ID system, to two overlapping $1 million insurance policies that protect hosts, guests, and neighbors in the rare event of injury or theft, and a special “Neighbors” platform to allow residents to file complaints 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We are proud of our community in the Vineyard, and welcome the opportunity to work with its municipalities to craft nuanced regulations that foster the economic opportunity that home sharing provides.
Andrew L. Kalloch
Hamilton
Mr. Kalloch is a lawyer who works in public policy for Airbnb. —Ed.