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TAB briefing: new residential short‑term rental layer, traffic 'pain‑cave' mapping and upcoming Forest Road and kiosk milestones
Summary
Staff presented updated research at the April 16 TAB meeting showing a new residential short‑term rental data layer, an analysis of congestion ‘pain‑cave’ thresholds at three city entry points and forthcoming operational milestones including a May Forest Road connection and a kiosk test drive.
At the April 16 Tourism Advisory Board meeting staff presented research updates including a new short‑term rental (STR) data layer limited to residential zones, updated lodging metrics, and a new traffic analysis that maps moments of severe congestion — described by staff as a “pain cave” threshold — at Sedona’s three main entry corridors.
Data and methods: Staff said the city’s analytics team worked with GIS to restrict scraped Airbnb/VRBO listing data to residentially zoned parcels. That change reduced commercial‑zone listings (hotels/timeshares) from the STR scraping dataset and increased the residential‑zone average daily rate (ADR) in year‑to‑date reporting from about $336 to $363, according to staff. Staff also noted the limitations of scraped data (for example, owner‑occupied blackout dates can inflate apparent bookings) and said they retain a smaller directly reported dataset from property managers for cross‑checking.
Traffic and infrastructure work: Staff described a new approach to measuring congestion by identifying a “you‑see‑red” or pain‑cave threshold at three entry points — the Cooks Hill/Bell Rock Boulevard approach, the 179 roundabout approach from the Canyon (Trout Farm/89A), and the Y at 179/89A — and mapping how often traffic metrics cross that threshold since 2019. “I established that, you see red threshold, the pain cave threshold on each of the 3 entry points,” a staff member said, and staff told TAB they would overlay occupancy and demand data and watch changes after the Forest Road connection opens in May.
Other operational updates: Staff said the city is testing kiosk hardware (a vendor test drive was scheduled), is in final stages of hiring a second tourism coordinator, and will bring short‑term rental and traffic findings to City Council for policy discussion. Staff reiterated that the crosswalk at a key Uptown location has been closed as part of an ADOT test and that ADOT will review data before deciding whether to make the closure permanent or pursue other crossing designs.
Why it matters: The refined STR layer gives the city a more focused view of residential STR performance; the traffic pain‑cave mapping is intended to provide evidence‑based thresholds to evaluate whether and when infrastructure projects such as the Forest Road connection or a parking garage reduce severe congestion. Staff said they would present the methods and results to Council and return to TAB with further analysis.
