| NEWS | Party’s Over Airbnb blocked 11,000 people in Arizona from throwing big parties in your neighborhood. BY ELIAS WEISS D aniel Tocora walks the fine line between giving custom- ers what they want and keep- ing the peace with neighbors when vacation renters want the whole house for a party. Tocora founded Scottsdale-based AZ Getaway Rentals LLC in 2019 and rents properties across the Valley, in Sedona, and the Mexican border state of Sonora. Some of his properties are also for rent on the global booking website Airbnb, which has cracked down on homes rented for parties during the pandemic, especially when the renter is younger than 25. “I think all hosts would agree that they don’t want to be the one to host a party,” Tocora said. Thousands of people in Arizona who are old enough to drink alcohol but have no place to party tried to rent entire homes during major holiday breaks, but Airbnb boasted that it blocked them all last year — 11,000 reservations statewide, to be exact. Tocora doesn’t know how many of his potential customers were not allowed to book his rentals because of Airbnb’s new rules, which parse out guests before they show up based on the likelihood they might throw a party on the property. Airbnb is big business in the Valley. There are more than 5,300 Airbnb listings in Scottsdale alone, which average $292 per night. Next month, the average cost of a Scottsdale rental will climb to $320, which Clash from p 8 Industry Consultants in Mesa. Miller is responsible for representing The Golden Margarita during permit hearings at the city and state levels. “It’s a tough corner,” he said about the in- tersection. The Golden Margarita replaced Paz Cantina, a Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar in late 2020. Instead of tasting menus and jazz music, the party bar hosted televised fights and Ghanaian comedian Michael Blackson for a “late-night” show. “It’s not just art shops and mom-and-pop stores anymore,” Miller said. But neighbors claimed that gun violence was not even a consideration in the densely populated enclave untilThe Golden Margarita opened. Tensions between some neighbors and the 10 establishment are palpable. “It’s sad to see how this place is ruining our neighborhood,” said Sara Grey, a resident in is more than double the national average, market analytics show. More than 94 per- cent of Scottsdale listings are for entire homes, not just rooms. Tocora doesn’t consider the new rules to be so onerous that his business isn’t thriving. It’s a service that Airbnb automat- ically rejects any last-minute “high-risk” rental requests, a standard his own com- pany already sets for reservations. A prop- erty with security cameras or noise monitors is likely to deter potential raves, he noted. “We really do not want to disturb any of the neighbors,” Tocora said, adding that nipping a party in the bud is not just about the “headaches” to repair damage or clean up. The concept of not allowing parties is a routine practice used by local hoteliers for decades. Hospitality experts advise own- ers to not rent rooms to people who live in the same town because chances are the room might get trashed during a raucous party and the guests don’t have to clean up afterward. It’s no secret that people trek to Arizona for parties. At one time, back in 2002, Arizona State University was Playboy’s No. 1 party school in America. Before the pandemic swept across the world, Lake Havasu City marketed itself as “the West’s biggest Spring Break party.” Lake Havasu City is more than a three- hour drive from Phoenix, a five-hour drive from Los Angeles, and just under three David Hudnall hours from Las Vegas. Demand for house parties spiked during the pandemic because there are typically more restrictions — such as masks or COVID-19 vaccine cards — when visiting entertainment venues, restaurants, and clubs. There’s no shortage of places where partiers can gather. Lake Pleasant Party Cove in Peoria is a hot spot for speedboats and bikinis on sunny days. Scottsdale’s Maya Dayclub allows revelers to have fun late into the night or early morning. Airbnb began the indefinite ban on parties by young renters in August 2020, citing a need for social distancing amid worsening public health conditions. Before the party ban with Airbnb, the vast majority of hosts already prohibited parties, about 73 percent globally. Airbnb canceled the most potential parties on Independence Day, Halloween, and New Year’s Eve, totaling 8,000 poten- tial rentals in 2021. “We believe it worked,” Aaron Swor, a spokesperson for Airbnb, said in a recent email. Those weekends were generally quiet, and these initiatives were well-re- occurred, but claims she isn’t deterred from the neighborhood or the job. “I just love it here,” said Brejana Herron, server manager for The Golden Margarita. “I love the atmosphere. I love the vibes.” But that’s not the last of the company’s problems, because now it’s struggling to keep its boozy drinks flowing. The city of Phoenix took action to block The Golden Margarita’s state liquor license application at every monthly hearing since September. Alcohol sales account for just shy of 60 The Golden Margarita’s signature cocktail. Elias Weiss her 30s who lives across the street. Several times Grey claims that she’s seen people “open fire at this place.” In addition to last month’s incident, Phoenix police officers responded to two other shoot- ings in March 2021. One employee at the bar was working at the club when all three shooting incidents percent of the club’s revenue. City officials asked the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control to reject the bar’s plea in September, October, and November. “It has been super frustrating,” said Miller. He claims that the city is trying to block the licensing process for financial reasons, namely that the city tried to collect an old debt from Paz Cantina. Sergeant Michael Walker, who works on the Neighbors of some short-term rental homes in Scottsdale want to see more regulation. ceived by our host community.” The widespread ban included innocent reservations where parties were not planned but it was a “tradeoff we’re willing to make,” Swor said. Phoenix was No. 6 on the list of the places with properties “most-blocked” for potential parties nationwide, even more so than hubs like Las Vegas and Miami, Airbnb data shows. Airbnb took its enforcement one step further when it suspended 70 properties from being listed on its website in Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Sedona, and Flagstaff in February 2021 for breaking the rules. That doesn’t mean all parties or com- plaints about noise have subsided. The issue is still contentious, especially in Scottsdale which has been enforcing noise limit rules since 2019. But the city’s legal options are limited because state law has barred any municipality from regulating short-term rentals directly since 2016. Phoenix Police Department’s liquor enforce- ment team, declined to disclose why the city is fighting The Golden Margarita in state liquor board hearings. There is “sensitive information included in the denial,” is all Walker would say. He declined to elaborate. The Golden Margarita has a temporary state liquor license that expires on April 7. Its first temporary license was issued in Septem- ber 2021, followed up three months later with a second one. The Golden Margarita expects to plead its case to the Phoenix City Council this spring. Unless city officials change their mind, it’s back to the liquor board for another hearing. The state previously revoked its liquor license last year for an undisclosed reason, according to the state liquor department. Miller said his client, Golden Margarita owner Gem Ray, is a Scottsdale club promoter who was trained as a chef at the Le Cordon Bleu. “It’s been an uphill battle,” Miller said. “He’s working through all these headaches.” FEB 10TH– FEB 16TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
