The North Hempstead Town Board will be taking up a resolution to effectively ban short-term rentals like AirBnB. That would be a mistake.

Those of us who travel appreciate how travel – more than anything (including reading books, banned or not, or listening to lectures by individuals banned or not) – opens minds, broadens perspectives, builds bridges and increases understanding. This is, in fact, one of the unique and important benefits of tourism that goes beyond the economic benefits that sustain a community. Travelers become ambassadors of sorts, whether going to a “foreign” country or another state or another community.

We hear all the time how tourists are derided as being too insulated behind gates of posh resorts or some fancy commercial hotel to be a benefit to the local community.

Short-term rentals, especially like AirBnB (the most visible and regulated form of short-term rentals), change that. It brings people into neighborhoods where they can really “meet the people,” see what communities and culture are really like.

Just recently, as Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed a sister city and friendship agreement with Northern Jerusalem (Israel), he pointed to the desirability of “building bridges,” to which Northern Jerusalem Governor Israel Ganz said “I hope you will use it to come.” Friendship, relationships, understanding and bridges – personal and economic – come from personal contact.

Now, North Hempstead is hardly a tourist destination so out-of-towners coming here are likely coming for family, friends, business, perhaps medical treatment or to support a patient in one of our world-class hospitals, or perhaps for a weeks-long contract as a traveling nurse or health provider, a university lecturer or researcher, a business consultant, or possibly to survey the place to relocate altogether or start a business.

AirBnBs – essentially renting a room or even an entire house – make that possible. The facilities – very, very different from commercial hotels or motels – are ideal for families and particularly multi-generational families traveling together and people who are essentially wanting to live in a neighborhood.

At a recent hearing, there were several people who complained about “outsiders” driving fast through their quiet streets, holding parties. Gosh, that sounds like just about everybody’s teenager. In fact, I question whether these complaints had anything to do with an AirBnB guest at all since guests have to be vetted and basically approved by the host, who also is vetted and approved by AirBnB to meet standards, and everybody rates everybody else. A host won’t accept a booking from someone who has received bad reviews, as one of the people who spoke at the hearing, who in fact is an AirBnB host, noted.

Short-term rentals like AirBnB provide a valued addition to communities, especially ones that are not in a tourist or commercial center.

Airbnbs afford a lodging experience that is very different from commercial hotels – in the first place, they offer the convenience of a home – with kitchen, multiple bedrooms, laundry facilities and the like.

As this woman noted, the guests who use AirBnB typically are coming to North Hempstead for some family or special occasion – a wedding, bar mitzvah, graduation or such. Most of the guests have ties to the community, or may even have been former residents (your former neighbors).

As she pointed out, out-of-towners are good for a local economy – they are literally cash cows – dining out, shopping. Every dollar spent by a visitor ripples four times through a local economy.

I’ve stayed in AirbnBs in a small town in California, and an AirBnB was a godsend when a blizzard hit when we arrived at Capital Reef in Utah. It sidetracked our plan to do “wild camping,” but we were cozy, safe and warm in a lovely house just outside the park.

There are huge advantages for property owners. Some people may be empty-nesters like this woman who is renting out a room rather than the whole house. These people not only provide revenue so that the empty-nester can continue to afford to keep the house but companionship.

Others might be snowbirds whose homes would otherwise be vacant and abandoned for six months. How is that a benefit to the neighborhood to have a home vacant for months? AirBnB hosts hire housekeepers or local managers, paid for out of the guest fees, to maintain the property (added benefit of creating jobs).

There are some negatives to short-term rentals. One is the complaint that by keeping a house off the market that would otherwise be sold, it limits housing stock and keeps housing costs high. That might be true, but on the other hand, it keeps home values up, which benefits you if you are the seller.

I personally don’t see a problem with people coming and going after three or four days or so – thus the turnover.

But the problems could be and should be mitigated – just as the accessory housing issue should be.

Short-term rental property owners like AirBnB should be required to register – a practice perhaps that renewed every few years – and be inspected for health and safety. The town could create code that also sets fines for various breaches – sanitation, noise pollution, public nuisance – and even pull a license or registration for repeated offenses. If the situation gets out of hand, there could be further regulations, including on the number of properties at any one time that could get such a license or registration. The town could even impose a hospitality tax for short-term rentals.

But weighing both sides – and the fact that housing costs are on the other side of the ledger from home values – the benefits outweigh the negatives, just as tourism, when done responsibly and sustainably, is a huge boon for a community.

My understanding is that this item will be back on North Hempstead’s agenda at its Sept. 22 meeting. The board should not ban short-term rentals, but instead properly regulate them.