How a popular tourist town manages its short-term rentals while protecting its resources with Host Compliance

Known as the “Queen of American Lakes,” and situated in the Southern Adirondacks, Lake George has long been a vacation destination for many families. Boasting beaches, boating, water sports, lake sightseeing tours, and seasonal fairs and events, Lake George has seen an influx of tourists over the years. With this increase in temporary residents comes the need for more short-term lodging options; as a result, some permanent residents saw this as an opportunity to market their homes as short-term rental properties.

As more homes were converted to STRs and more visitors were staying in these properties, town officials became concerned about the impact tourists and their activities would have on the area’s lake and other resources. Managing STRs had been a manual, cumbersome process in Lake George and had consisted of scouring short-term rental websites to identify local properties being used in this way. Town officials needed a solution that accelerated the STR regulation and management process.

Host Compliance helped Lake George improve and streamline its existing processes and remove the cumbersome manual component altogether. This solution made it so that what could have once been a full-time job could now be carried out “part of the time by a part-time employee.”

By implementing Host Compliance and enhancing its processes, Lake George was able to increase the number of permits issued for STRs and, as a result, saw a surge in revenue. In addition, the town had set occupancy limits on STRs relative to each property’s septic system age and capacity. By implementing these parameters, the town gained the ability to view septic systems in the area and address issues prior to there being a major detrimental impact.