NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk city leaders are offering a new way for residents to give feedback about short-term rentals.
The city recently added short-term rentals as a new option under its citizen’s service portal, a website where people can submit complaints anonymously.
“It used to be a kind of hidden little secret down here. We’re not anymore. The beaches are great,” said longtime Willoughby Spit resident Tod Hayes.
The beach and short-term rentals near the beach are two reasons people head to Willoughby Spit in Norfolk.
“Here in the Spit, here at our restaurant, right now, probably over 40% of our business is short-term rental people here on vacation. So, we love the fact that they’re coming here to the Spit to vacation,” said Hayes.
However, short-term rentals can lead to headaches for some Willoughby Spit residents, like Jay Adams, who says parking can be an issue.
“We stay near the beach, and a lot of people don’t know there [are] assigned parking spaces, but that’s pretty much the big thing is the parking,” Adams said.
According to short-term rental websites, such as Airbnb and Verbo, there are more than 50 short-term rental locations in Willoughby Spit.
Across Norfolk, many short-term rental locations are available. According to a city newsletter, the most common complaints include noise, occupancy violations, trespassing and parking.
Adams believes this new feature will be helpful to the community.
“I think that a lot of people would benefit from staying anonymous and being able to express their feelings,” he said.