As Orem considers future regulations, we hope city leaders will also consider the impact on Orem residents who acted transparently, followed city processes, and built plans around what was permitted at the time.

As Orem continues discussing short-term rental regulations, we as hosts believe our city deserves a conversation rooted in accurate data, transparency, and a full understanding of how these policies affect everyday families.

Like many residents, we care deeply about neighborhoods, housing affordability, safety, and preserving what makes Orem a wonderful place to live. These concerns deserve to be taken seriously. But serious policy decisions should be based on facts rather than assumptions, fear, or numbers that may not tell the full story.

One of the most commonly cited statistics in recent discussions is that Orem has more than 500 short-term rentals operating in the city. This number has been repeated often enough that many residents understandably assume it is a current and verified count. However, recent analysis of the data suggests the reality may be far different.

The number most often referenced appears to come from AirDNA, a third-party tracking platform that estimates Airbnb and vacation rental activity. Yet even AirDNA distinguishes between listings that had a booking sometime within the last 12 months and properties actively operating today. A property may remain in the count even if it only had one booking many months ago, is no longer operating, has switched to long-term housing, or is simply inactive.

Even more important, a substantial percentage of these listings reportedly require stays of 30 days or longer. Under Utah law and local definitions, stays of 30 days or more are not short-term rentals at all — they are residential rentals. These include traveling professionals, temporary workers, semester housing, families between homes, and others seeking temporary housing solutions.

When looking at what is actually available to book in Orem today, the number appears significantly 2.5 times lower than what is commonly repeated publicly. And among those, only a smaller portion are entire single-family homes–the category most often associated with neighborhood concerns.

This distinction matters. Only 86 out of 30,000 homes in Orem are being rented out as short term rentals currently. When thinking of the impact one must look at that data first.

When residents express concern about “Airbnbs taking over neighborhoods,” most are not referring to a homeowner renting out a basement apartment, hosting a private room, or helping offset the rising cost of living. They are concerned about large-scale commercial impacts in residential neighborhoods. If we are discussing different categories of housing as though they are the same, we risk creating policy that unintentionally harms ordinary families while failing to address the concerns residents actually have.

For many homeowners, especially in today’s economy, rental flexibility is not about running a corporation. It is about paying mortgages, staying in homes, helping extended family, offsetting rising costs, and creating financial resilience during uncertain times. Orem has long valued hard work, property rights, and creative ways families support themselves.

We have also heard claims that short-term rentals are significantly harming Orem schools or hollowing out neighborhoods. If those concerns are being used to justify major policy changes, residents deserve to see clear, current evidence specific to Orem. Correlation is not always causation, and broad assumptions can lead to policies that miss the real issues affecting housing and schools. School enrollment can be affected by such a broad spectrum. Housing costs, birth rates, migration, school choice, homeschooling, economy, demographics, boundaries can all play a role.

As our city moves forward, we hope we can slow down enough to ask important questions: Are we using current and accurate numbers? Are we distinguishing between entire-home vacation rentals and owner-occupied homes? Are we measuring actual neighborhood impacts, or reacting to assumptions? And are we considering the consequences for families who rely on housing flexibility to remain financially stable?

Reasonable regulations may absolutely have a place. But before policies are finalized, Orem residents deserve confidence that decisions are being made with reliable information, balanced discussion, and a full understanding of who will be affected.

Good policy begins with good data. Orem deserves nothing less.

Marissa Harris is an Orem resident, a homeowner, a small-business owner, a parent, and a short term rental host.