People need to actually live there

Seattle is looking to impose some limits on Airbnb.

Under the regulations, only property owners using their primary residence would be allowed to operate short-term rentals year-round, according to Burgess. Those not using their primary residence would be limited to 90 total nights over 12 months.

That's still kind of a modest rule. If something like that were imposed in New Orleans, for example, it's conceivable a landlord may do pretty well with 90 days of STR revenue compared with 12 months of renting to locals.  But at least it's something of a step in the right direction.  Because a city is not just a playground for wealthy vacationers.  People actually live in cities. 

The distinction would prevent landlords from choosing tourists over tenants, Burgess says.

“We have whole floors of apartment buildings that have been taken off the housing market,” he said. “We have entire buildings that essentially have become hotels.”

In any case, the leadership in New Orleans is making the exact opposite policy choice. Stacy Head says she hears a "drumbeat" in favor of putting more tourists into neighborhoods, not fewer.

“There’s been a consistent drumbeat of requests to move tourists into other neighborhoods than the French Quarter and the CBD,”

Mitch Landrieu specifically rejected the City Planning Commission's suggestion that New Orleans adopt a policy similar to what Seattle is proposing.  The CPC is scheduled to hold a public hearing on this matter during its June 14 meeting.