Visitors to the 13-bedroom Little Mountain Lodge above Breckenridge’s historic downtown have supported the tourist town’s economy for many years.
They book snowmobile rides. They rent bicycles and ski. They reserve tables and rooms in local restaurants.
“All the business owners in Breckenridge who rely on visitor spending, they are getting it from my group,” said Carol Kresge, the manager of the sprawling home that was originally built as a B&B but now can be rented short-term by vacationing groups who pay as much as $4,000 a night.
The owners of the Little Mountain Lodge could lose their ability to rent to vacationers under proposed changes to short-term rentals proposed by Breckenridge’s town council.
The town has 3,945 privately owned homes and condos that vacationers can rent. The town council, in an effort town leaders described as a way “to protect our quality of life and the fabric of our community” and “fiercely protect the character of Breckenridge,” on Tuesday unanimously approved a 2,200-property cap on so-called exempt short-term rentals in the town. Those are the homes that are not part of a larger hotel-like complex that offers a staffed front-desk and security.
