VTDigger · Ron Evans · September 4, 2026
Dear Editor,
I recently read the opinion piece written by Lew Holtzman and found it to be misinformed sophistry. The headline reads “Don’t punish Vermonters,” but in the article’s first sentence, he describes himself as a part-timer.
I, too, was a teacher downcountry when I made the clear, and some said risky, decision to actually become a Vermonter full-time. But here I am 50 years later running one of the most successful Airbnbs in the world while providing four individual full-time Vermont families with homes on a rescued historic site .
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Airbnb is highly regulated in my chosen state, generating around $460 million in economic activity annually, including $54 million in rooms and meals taxes, along with countless dollars in tourist revenue.
The debate must always remain factual, not personal.
Ron Evans
East Clarendon, Vt.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Airbnb hosts aren’t the enemy in Vermont’s housing debate .