We’re in for another partly sunny day with a high of 67.
We have a lot of news to get through today.
First up, we’re starting to see the impacts of city regulations that went into effect for Airbnb and other short-term rentals earlier this year. The result is a shrinking industry in Philly.
Our lead story breaks down the numbers.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Tap into the Airbnb app locally, and there will likely be less to choose from than a few months ago.
Philly’s efforts to regulate the short-term rental industry have led to the number of available offerings on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to dwindle.
Deckard Technologies tracks the industry nationally and found that roughly 1,000 hosts in Philadelphia switched from short to long-term rentals at the beginning of the year when new city regulations went into effect. Hundreds more followed suit after the city began to seriously enforce the new rules in July.
According to Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections, 1,850 hosts have been delisted from platforms like Airbnb and VRBO after the crackdown on unlicensed operators began in July.
What did the new laws do? They reinforced a long-standing but not well-enforced regulation requiring a hotel license for properties operating short-term rentals where the owners don’t reside.
Continue reading for the broader context on cities across the country becoming stricter on the industry.
While on a stage at an event talking to supporters, Philly GOP mayoral candidate David Oh rattled off a list of the ethnic and racial groups represented in his coalition. He made sure to do this twice.
In his own words: “Ukrainians, Georgians, Belarussians,” Oh, 63, said. “Iranians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Filipino, Dominican, Italian American, African American, Caribbean.”
As a Republican in a heavily Democratic city, he won three City Council elections by patching together a diverse coalition of groups not usually involved with city politics, from Ukrainian Americans to “the DHS moms,” his name for mothers whose children are in the custody of Department of Human Services.
Reminder: His method worked for his reelection campaign in 2019 while his GOP colleagues fell short against the Working Families Party’s historic attempt to take two Council seats set aside for non-Democrats. Oh scored votes from across the city while other Republicans got their votes almost exclusively from conservative areas in the far Northeast and South Philly.
He’s hoping to use his diverse base of supporters to make this the first competitive general election for mayor in 20 years.
What you should know today
Thanks to ABC’s The Golden Bachelor, the topic of older Americans hooking up is popping up in everyday discussion.
You might not like the idea of grandma going out on the town, but she probably is.
Notable quote: “Seeing older people on TV demonstrating interest in others, along with sexual desire, shows that we don’t change much as we age,” said Ilene Warner-Maron, a professor in the department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. “If you want to ride a bike and you still can, who says you’re too old? In life, there’s no such thing as a dirty old man or woman.”
A few ladies spoke to us about what the dating world is like for the over-65 crowd.
🧠Trivia time đź§
President Joe Biden’s visit to Philly on Friday comes less than six weeks since the last time he was here.
After Friday, how many times will he have visited the city this year?
A) 10
B) 8
C) 5
D) 4
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re…
✅ Sharing: How to go straight to the CEO when customer service doesn’t work.
đź’Wondering: Why the Atlanta Braves’ mascot, Blooper, thought it could come for the Phanatic.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Major road đźš—
ARBOR DETEST
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Susan Becker, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Styer Orchard. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
I’ll catch you tomorrow!