Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Short Term Rentals topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kentucky Lake CVB warns of short‑term rental impact, presents AirDNA data and 2026 budget
Summary
The Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau told the Marshall County Fiscal Court that short‑term rentals have surged and now make up a growing share of transient-tax receipts; the CVB presented AirDNA data, noted limits to collecting tax from Airbnb listings, and outlined a balanced $588,400 budget for fiscal 2026.
Laina Blevins, representing the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Marshall County Fiscal Court on July 16 that the CVB’s marketing and outreach work aims to increase overnight visits and support county lodging businesses. Blevins presented staffing updates, a new online events calendar, and a social‑media and AI‑forward marketing strategy to capture booking demand that is increasingly made within weeks or days of travel.
The CVB reported a 2025 economic impact estimate of more than $88 million for the region, with $20.3 million in labor income and about $6.3 million in state and local tax receipts; Blevins said those figures represented a slight decline from 2024 and that lodging and transportation saw the largest decreases, in part because of heavy spring rains in 2025.
On short‑term rentals, Blevins said the CVB contracted with AirDNA to analyze a decade of listings and revenue data. She said listings in the CVB’s reporting increased from roughly 2,000 in 2016 to about 45,000 in 2025 and that short‑term rentals generated an estimated $4.4 million in the FY 2025–26 period. Blevins told the court the CVB currently captures roughly 70–75% of the transient‑tax revenue that should be collected from short‑term rentals and that uncollected revenue is primarily associated with Airbnb listings, which the speaker described as not complying with Kentucky law.
Blevins also explained that a lawsuit brought by the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Tourism Industry Association seeking broader enforcement against Airbnb had been dismissed by the Kentucky Supreme Court on standing grounds; she said the dismissal left the underlying legal question unresolved but that statewide groups may pursue appeals or county‑level case studies. The CVB said its AirDNA data are intended to support local efforts or litigation if asked.
On finance, Blevins presented the CVB’s balanced fiscal‑year 2026 budget with projected income of $588,400 and an advertising/marketing line around $214,000. She said the CVB added a small reserve line after recent crises and noted modest payroll increases related to new hires. The CVB also reported that it would continue pursuing an online payment portal (including ACH capability) to make transient‑tax remittance easier for property owners and managers.
Members thanked Blevins for the presentation and asked for comparative regional reports and historical data where available. The court recessed after the presentation.
