How Airbnb helps us open our home and give back to Nashville | Opinion

With the blessing of neighbors on our block, my wife Nancy and I opened an Airbnb suite in our home just over a year ago. Their support was buoyed by a strong sense of accountability; if an issue arose with noise or parking, we’d be the first to know.

Airbnb’s owner-occupant model has proven a good match for us. I’m a fourth-generation Nashvillian who has lived here my entire life. Nancy arrived in 1984 to attend graduate school at Vanderbilt and has worked in education for 36 years, including 17 years at Vanderbilt as an instructor. With our combined knowledge and longstanding network of friends, we can answer almost any question a guest might have.

Throughout our 27-year marriage, we’ve always enjoyed meeting new people and often had others living with us, so welcoming visitors required minimal adjustment.

Airbnb
Airbnb

Among our 50 reservations, we’ve hosted people from as near as Huntsville and as far away as Austria. We travel infrequently, so we feel the Airbnb suite brings the world to us.

Our home is convenient for business travelers as well as those with a connection to Vanderbilt and Belmont including prospective students, parents visiting their children, and individuals participating in residencies or seminars. Because we are within walking distance from a diverse array of local restaurants and shops, it’s also proven a great location for those who want to explore the area.

As we approach retirement age, hosting has provided a welcome source of income. In addition to supplementing our finances, we are grateful that the local tax revenues from Airbnbs ($46 million last year) go toward sustaining the needs of the community.

We also appreciate the work of the Barnes Fund in helping to add more affordable housing throughout the city, so we are particularly thankful that the program received nearly a fourth of its 2022 funding from short-term rental tax revenues.

Mike Nolan
Mike Nolan

While we’re aware that short-term rentals are not always considered assets to the community, we’re thankful for the opportunity that Airbnb provides us and hosts like us to prepare for retirement, support our local community, and offer a personal touch of hospitality to those who visit our city.

Michael Nolan is a freelance writer who maintains a website for visitors at NotesOnNashville.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Airbnb helps us open our home and give back to Nashville