Steve Shur is president of the Travel Technology Association, representing companies such as Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, Airbnb and others.
Over the past year, COVID-19 has devastated the Ocean State’s economy. As Rhode Island seeks to rebuild, state lawmakers must not underestimate the ability of travel and tourism to foster economic growth. The fact is, one in seven jobs in Rhode Island are sustained by the travel economy. Ensuring that Rhode Island’s tourism economy has every opportunity to flourish without impediment must be a top priority.
Yet, two dangerous bills — HB5505 and its Senate companion bill, SB501 — are being considered by the state legislature that would cause irreparable harm to Rhode Island’s travel industry at a time when it has been devastated by the global pandemic. These bills would require “third-party hosting platforms,” such as Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com, to only list properties that have properly registered with Rhode…