In the border town of El Paso, Texas, Heidy Seoenz’s journey from entrepreneur to short-term rental advocate has the hallmarks of a heroine in a Western flick, including the bold nicknames.
Unlike the Western outlaws who earned their epithets from federal agents, Heidy earned her moniker, “Airbnb queen,” from the El Paso community where she revolutionized the STR industry and spearheaded efforts to protect the property rights of STR hosts in the city.
“I was invited to a networking event, and when I arrived there, some people started introducing me as the Airbnb queen,” Heidy said. “It was something that I wasn’t expecting, but I liked it so now I’ve grown to own the title and started showing people how to do Airbnb.”
Scene 1: Taking a shot at short-term rentals
Heidy’s foray into short-term rentals began unexpectedly, spurred by her parents’ desire to retire sooner rather than later.
In a rundown apartment complex her parents owned, Heidy saw an opportunity to renovate the property and turn it into something profitable. Inspired by her positive experiences staying at short-term rentals in Europe, she and her husband decided to venture into El Paso’s relative STR ghost town.
At that time, short-term rentals were scarce in El Paso despite the presence of Fort Bliss, which draws military personnel and their families to the area. According to Heidy, about 200 short-term rentals operated amid a population of nearly 700,000.
“It started as a way to help my parents retire, but it quickly grew into something more,” Heidy recalled. “We renovated all 14 apartments in the complex and put them on Airbnb.”
Seeing the endeavor’s success, Heidy and her husband realized they could leverage their DIY renovation, design, and construction skills to turn this into a thriving business, which they called Made by Seoenz.
Growing up amid her parents’ multiple businesses in El Paso, Heidy inherited their entrepreneurial spirit, an asset in a city where professional jobs are scarce.
Although educated as a mechanical engineer, she could not find a job in her field in El Paso, leaving entrepreneurship as the only option to make a living in her hometown. With this spirit in her DNA, she expanded her STR portfolio, acquiring more properties to transform into short-term rentals. Alongside her husband, she launched ancillary businesses such as STR staging, setup, and construction services, catering to new hosts.
Scene 2: Showing other hosts the STR ropes
But Heidy’s ambitions expanded beyond turning a profit – they turned into a passion that she wanted to share with others. El Paso has the second-highest property tax rate in the country, making short-term renting a critical resource to help local homeowners cover their taxes and keep their properties, Heidy said.
But recognizing the lack of knowledge and support for property owners who wanted to try short-term renting, Heidy designed workshops to empower other El Paso property owners to replicate her best practices. Through several workshops and networking events, she shared her expertise, gained through the experience of trial and error, with hundreds of individuals.
“The networking events were a chance to get to know the people doing [short-term rentals] in El Paso, just so that we could know each other and start building the community and sharing knowledge,” Heidy said.
Scene 3: Advocacy slinging
Heidy’s advocacy work took a new dimension when she learned of the City of El Paso’s plans to enact strict regulations on short-term rentals without seeking host input. The proposed restrictions included prohibiting short-term rentals within 500 feet of each other, occupancy limits based on square footage, a $500 registration fee, and other measures.
Concerned that these measures would stifle the budding industry and undermine the livelihoods of mom-and-pop hosts, she sprang into action.
“It wasn’t right for [City Council] to make an ordinance without our input,” Heidy said. “I knew I had to do something about it.”
With no experience in activism, Heidy didn’t know where to begin to mobilize the STR community. Leveraging her connections within the national short-term rental community and seeking guidance from industry professionals, including Rent Responsibly, she orchestrated a campaign to raise awareness of and respond to the proposed regulations.
“We made a lot of noise,” she recalled. Together, she and three fellow hosts rallied the STR community and their neighbors, contacted the media, and flooded City Council meetings with concerned stakeholders wearing white as a symbol of unity.
Their efforts paid off when the City Council agreed to hold community meetings to glean public feedback on their proposed regulations. Heidy used the meetings to amplify hosts’ voices and ensure their concerns were heard.
“I attended every meeting, asked everyone I knew to attend, and talked directly with city officials to oppose the regulations,” Heidy said.
Scene 4: Creating a short-term rental alliance
To create a credible organization for the city to work with, Heidy and three other fellow hosts founded the El Paso Short-Term Rental Alliance with Heidy at its helm.
The groundswell of STR advocates at the community meetings prompted the City Council to approve a pilot program proposed by the EPSTRA. The program aims to address concerns about safety and compliance with existing nuisance ordinances while preserving the autonomy of hosts and sparing them from high fees and even higher taxes.
“We wanted to show that self-regulation can work,” Heidy said. Through collaboration with city agencies like 311, the alliance will report problematic hosts who allow parties or other public nuisances directly to the listing sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo. They also meet with the city manager, code enforcers, and police chief quarterly.
So far in 2024, there have been just four complaints about STR properties in the city, Heidy said.
“In September or October, we’re going to have to go back to City Council and show what we’ve been doing, how we’ve been working with the city,” she said. Regardless of the program’s outcome, Heidy expects STR regulations to come to El Paso eventually.
However, the hosting community is now united and engaged in advocating for sensible regulations that support economic prosperity while safeguarding the rights of property owners.
“We do understand that it’s a matter of when and not if we get an ordinance,” she said. “But now we can make sure that when we do get an ordinance, it won’t be this crazy ordinance that people don’t deserve.”
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