just in that we're trying to hear from VT-ers. VT Politics is a good suggestion, thanks

Hey OP u/headgasketidiot - I wanted to weigh in here to say that it's genuinely cool to see how much time you took to absorb the information in the episode and respond in all these ways. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Same goes for many of the commenters in this thread. It's never easy to hear critique of something my colleagues and I spend so many hours working on, but it's important and I'm grateful for it. There are a couple things I want to address directly:

To the point about the "growing demand of people who want to live here" -- I agree that there seems to be a perception that people are moving to Vermont in droves that does not match reality. I was focusing on data about the increase in demand for "year-round households" (an increase that predates the pandemic). See this overview from the VHFA (https://www.vhfa.org/news/blog/30000-40000-more-vermont-homes-needed-2030). The pandemic accelerated things slightly, but factors like more flexible remote work options and climate migration have the potential to increase in relevance in the future. And given that Vermont has the *lowest* rental vacancy rate in the nation already, and that there is currently a clear shortage of year-round housing stock, any increase in demand (even a relatively slight one) has an outsized impact. This is the reason I included the line ("and to keep up with the growing demand of people who want to live here"). I'd be interested in a deeper comparison of population data vs year-round household data, and I appreciate you pointing out that the influx is not as dramatic, numbers-wise, as some seem to think.

Meanwhile, I agree that ~10,000 short-term rentals does represent a potentially large chunk of the "new" year-round housing needed to meet demand. That's one of the reason I wanted to include the numbers, though I could have put a finer point on it. One of the reasons I didn't is the fact that VT does not have a statewide rental registry, which makes it impossible to know how many of those 10,000+ short-term units could realistically serve as long-term ones -- i.e. they aren't just seasonal camps, etc. As a reporter (and as a VT resident), this is frustrating! And it's why I wanted to include more detailed stories about Airbnb units that *could* serve as year-round housing, and the impact of that, in the episode as well.

Based on my reporting, I think much of our housing crisis can be attributed to factors other than short-term rentals, but addressing STRs is also an important step for Vermont to take. One housing expert I spoke to described the necessary approach to the state's housing crisis as "silver buckshot, not a silver bullet" and it stuck with me.

I hope this helps shed some light on my and my team's approach to this piece, even if it's not completely satisfying. Again, I'm grateful for the thoughtful critique!

Check out the podcast feed tomorrow...

(p.s. we work on lots of episodes about a variety of topics at the same time)

Thanks for the feedback. Not every episode is for everyone, though in this case, the Airbnb question won and I'm glad it's a topic you're interested in. Open to reporting suggestions if you have them

FWIW, I genuinely appreciate your comment, snark aside. The Airbnb question ended up winning and I do want our reporting to reflect the reality of what is actually happening in VT.

Our episode on the housing crisis last year talked a lot about building more housing and (depending on the person speaking) how (in)effective that is if it's the only approach to "solving" the problem. And how some people want more regulation of short-term rentals.

Curious for your thoughts: Do you see more regulation of short-term as part of a solution? What other stories/reporting do you want represented in this episode?

We did a housing ep last year that mentioned Airbnb: https://www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/brave-little-state/2022-02-03/how-can-vermont-solve-its-housing-crisis

But this would be more of a deep dive

Quick clarification:

You can vote in the current voting round by clicking the link above (also here). You can submit a new question for consideration by filling out the form embedded at bravelittlestate.org!

We don't only! Check our post history...

Though, I (Josh) often do because the nature of our show is collaborative. I try not to be overly promotional on here -- many of the show-related posts I submit are asking for those in this subreddit to tell us which stories they want us to cover, or to see if anyone has tips about ongoing reporting on a given subject, or even to see if people want to share their experience/be a source for our piece (and sometimes for stories other reporters are covering in our newsroom).

I've really enjoyed interacting with folks in this subreddit in the comments/DMs, and feedback our show has received here has gone a long way towards shaping our coverage! I'm also open to feedback about how to improve our Reddit presence. It's been an experiment for sure