NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The vacation rental

industry has stepped up efforts to influence U.S. lawmakers to

keep more cities from enacting restrictions on short-term

rentals in response to concerns about housing availability and

quality of life.

Growth in short-term rental supply has slowed in 17 of North

America's largest 30 cities in 2024, according to KeyData, a

vacation rental analytics firm. In response, Booking Holdings ( BKNG )

, Expedia Group's ( EXPE ) VRBO, and smaller operators

are spending more on lobbying to head off local restrictions

that limit supply.

Numerous cities around North America, including New York,

Los Angeles and Montreal, have curbed the growth of rental

properties, responding to complaints from residents who say

short-term rentals make housing less affordable and hurt the

quality of neighborhood life.

"We're really eager to work with those local lawmakers to

understand what their priorities are, but there are some

opportunities to strive for stability and consistency in state

law," said Richard de Sam Lazaro, senior director of government

affairs at Expedia ( EXPE ).

In the first half of 2024, vacation rental companies spent

$1.4 million on lobbying, up 13% from the year-ago period as

they step up efforts in states like Florida, Colorado, and

Arizona. Detractors believe they will continue to spend more

money.

"That's the tip of the iceberg compared to how much staff

they have and who they are employing to be so-called

organizers," said Murray Cox, a housing activist who founded

Inside Airbnb, a data platform that tracks vacation rentals. "In

many cities short-term rentals have a negative impact on housing

and they should be regulated."

Cox helped draft legislation to restrict short-term rentals

in New York City that took effect in September 2023. Since then,

listings for less than 30 days have fallen by 54%, according to

AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics firm.

Average hotel prices in New York rose 5.6% in the first half

of 2024, compared with a 1.8% increase nationally, according to

Costar, a commercial real estate analytics firm.

A month after regulations restricting rentals to primary

residences were passed in 65 British Columbian communities,

supply fell 9.4%, said Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA,

while daily hotel rates rose 9% in the province.

Vacation home purchases have already slowed due to higher

interest rates and elevated home prices, said Melanie Brown,

director of data insights at vacation rental analytics firm Key

Data.

Expedia ( EXPE ) spent $380,000 on lobbying in the first half of

2024, up 58% from the year prior, according to nonprofit

transparency group Open Secrets. Expedia ( EXPE ) worked with Arizona

legislators on regulation that prohibits localities from

enacting outright bans. Booking Holdings ( BKNG ) boosted lobbying

expenditures 61% in the same period to $570,000.

Local vacation associations and professional property

managers are also pooling funds for lobbying. In Florida, the

Florida Professional Vacation Rental Coalition persuaded

Governor Ron DeSantis to veto a bill in June that would have

authorized local officials to revoke or refuse to renew

short-term rental licenses.

DeSantis called the bill "bureaucratic red tape."

"You pay to have access," said Steve Milo, coalition

Steering Committee Chair and CEO of VTrips, a professional

property management company. "It is not by chance that you have

such a pro-vacation rental situation in the state of Florida."

Milo said property managers across Southern states are

trading notes on how to increase their lobbying.

Analysts so far don't see regulations threatening the

viability of Airbnb ( ABNB ) and others. Airbnb ( ABNB ) said 80% of its top 200

markets by revenue are already regulated, and while it is seeing

a fall in active listings, it attributed that to efforts to

remove lower-quality properties.

"It would be different if we saw a whole country or even a

whole major U.S. state change the rules," said Richard Clarke,

Bernstein equity analyst.

Airbnb's ( ABNB ) 2024 lobbying spend is down 29% to $470,000, and it

does not expect full-year expenditures to differ significantly

from 2023's $1.03 million, as the company focuses on global

expansion.

Restrictions found in North America are present elsewhere.

Barcelona plans to bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 to

rein in soaring housing costs. A few weeks later, the Spanish

government announced a crackdown on holiday rentals due to anger

from locals.