In our ideal world, the vast majority of tourism or other visits to the Hyde Park / Woodlawn / West Woodlawn community would not stay in hotels. They would stay in local homes or B&B experiences, putting them in direct contact with the community and its culture.
Current commercial accommodations in the area are simply capital extractive. While they provide a small number of jobs, the largest portion of their profits flow outward, to individuals outside the community. This capital needs to be retained in the community.
As well, they typically provide generic experiences which isolate visitors from the culture and experiences of the community, especially Great Migration and other minority communities.
Short-term Rental Platforms provide a key enabler to reverse the patterns above-- when managed properly.
We note in particular that there appear to be several large-scale STRP/Airbnb operations in the area, which flout Chicago's STRP regulations and essentially steal revenue from local homeowners. Chicago BACP needs to alter licensing & enforcement to strongly favour small-scale local property holders, with a reduction in taxation of low-income property holders.
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