STR Economic Impact Study Shows How Much You Matter To New Mexico

Carl Vidal - an Albuquerque STR Host, Realtor and Facebook New Mexico State Airbnb Host Community Lead has published his extensive study on the economic impact short term rentals have on our state in 2023.

Carl takes a deep dive into the numbers, utilizing credible sources such as AirDNA, New Mexico Department of Tourism and Wheel House Market Reports, to name a few.

In 2023, short term rentals contributed a whopping $1.01 BILLION in economic impact in New Mexico. 

You read that correctly.

The numbers breakdown impressively:

$746 Million in Direct Tourist Spending

$82 Million in State and Local Taxes

14, 555 in Total Jobs Created.

We highly recommend you read this report (attached).  

Being informed is powerful.

We have to ask ourselves why our local and state officials are attacking our right to short term rent our properties with unlawful permitting processes and seeking to tax us out of existence.  Why?

The Santa Fe County Commissioners and Growth Management Director, have been particularly aggressive towards STRs.  

They want us out of business.

But do they know the numbers?

Do they understand the year in, year out substantial revenue our STRs contribute to our community?

Why don't they care?

Our elected officials have been lying to the public in order to justify their attack our ability to short term rent.  

Anna Hansen ran for Senate in district #24 on her anti-STR stance. She, with her collaborator, Penny Ellis-Green (Growth Mgmt Director) initiated the attack on county STRs.

Commissioner Hank Hughes has repeatedly stated he doesn't want "one" next door to him.

Camilla Bustamante's home is an illegal lot of record according to the Sustainable Land Development Code - yet she votes to subject STR owners to aggressive retroactive rezoning of their homes/STRs under the very same SLDC that she isn't being retroactively rezoned to....because she has to make them "safe".

Justin Greene owns STRs in the City of Santa Fe - where he isn't held to the aggressive, expensive requirements County STRs are held to.  He has voted repeatedly in favor of these requirements.

Adam Fulton-Johnson, newly elected commissioner for district #4, is openly hostile to STRs - particularly towards non-owner occupied.

Lisa Cacari-Stone, newly elected commissioner for district #2 - a so-called professor and researcher has openly stated she "thinks" STRs impact affordable housing in the county.  She "thinks" ? Clearly she hasn't bothered to educate herself with facts provided in the county's own studies.  So much for being an educator.

Remember, the County's own studies, the Affordable Housing study and SFC Community Impact study - October 2023 BOTH found STRs do not have a negative impact on our community. 

Numbers don't lie.  People do.

Why do they lie when we are creating significant benefit to our community?

Our elected local and state officials - in the face of facts - continue to lie about the impact STRs have on Santa Fe and New Mexico as a whole.

And the media has been helping them do it.

Do they have "alternative facts" to justify their attack on STRs?

Read the studies.

Engage your representatives  - County - State, with the facts.

Share the studies with them.

Challenge them to explain why STR contributions to our communities don't matter.

Ask them why the $1 Billion annual economic benefit doesn't matter.

Ask them why the 14,555 jobs don't matter.

Ask them where the $1 Billion dollars went last year.

The STR Fellowship of Santa Fe can't be the only voice asking these questions.  

You need to ask them.  You need to demand answers.

Many voices get more attention than one spokesperson of a group.  

Ask and have your voice heard.

Together We Are Stronger!

The STR Fellowship of Santa Fe