Department of Tourism Story Archives - Page 2 of 2 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Pros And Cons Of The Growing Demand For Vacation Rentals

Companies like Airbnb and Vrbo are part of the same gig economy as ride-sharing apps like Uber, or food delivery services like Doordash – they act as online marketplaces that connect property owners with tenants for a short period. They’ve become increasingly popular as an alternative to hotels, allowing tourists to stay in unique lodgings in the communities they’re visiting.

As West Virginia becomes renowned for its outdoor tourism spots, short-term vacation rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos are increasingly in demand.

These companies are part of the same gig economy as ride-sharing apps like Uber, or food delivery services like Doordash – they act as online marketplaces that connect property owners with tenants for a short period. They’ve become increasingly popular as an alternative to hotels, allowing tourists to stay in unique lodgings in the communities they’re visiting.

Jamie Lopez, a real estate agent based in Martinsburg, has been an Airbnb owner and consultant for six years.

“I think about 25 percent of my traffic comes from tourism,” Lopez said. “And when I tell local people that people are actually coming to Martinsburg to be a tourist, it shocks them sometimes.”

Lopez says the average Airbnb renter tends to be more invested in the community they’re staying in, noting they spend more money in town and contribute more to the local tourism economy.

“The same $100 spent on an Airbnb spends about $100 in town. They spend multiple days in town. It’s a huge difference, the traveler that stays in an Airbnb,” Lopez said.

West Virginia’s Secretary of Tourism Chelsea Ruby says the state has been monitoring the growth of short-term rentals for some time. She says the state has seen a huge increase in the sales tax revenue from what are called “marketplace facilitators” like Airbnb since 2019.

“In the month of August of this year, there were $10.6 million in taxable sales, and the state collected $638,000 in sales tax on these properties,” Ruby said.

That’s an increase of more than 350 percent since the state began collecting sales tax from these companies three years ago.

For the companies’ part, they’ve made more than $100 million dollars in in-state revenue over the past year, with around 4,400 vacation rental listings statewide. The popularity of these rentals has gotten such that West Virginia’s tourism office has partnered with the rental sharing company Vrbo to promote some of the state’s tourist destinations.

“We’re clearly one of the fastest growing vacation rental states in the country as far as new rentals coming online,” Ruby said. “But we’re lagging behind in consumer education, meaning that we’re quickly becoming a vacation rental state, but we haven’t told the world that we’re a vacation rental state.”

But the success of short-term rentals across the state’s real estate and tourism industries could be putting a strain on local workers, especially in more rural areas. Daniel Eades, associate professor and rural development specialist for WVU Extension, says it makes it harder for workers to find housing in the communities they work in.

“This ends up causing real problems when those rental properties that folks could afford at $750 are now being used as short-term rentals where the owner can get $1,000 a month,” Eades said.

It’s not a problem that’s unique to West Virginia, but rural communities in the state are seeing the effects. A town hall meeting document from Davis in Tucker County says 30 housing units in the town have been converted into short-term rentals as of last February.

“I think the absolute number isn’t that high,” Eades said. “But when your town only has 500 homes, that’s five percent of the housing stock that’s potentially been taken out and is being used for short-term rental.”

As one of West Virginia’s premiere vacation areas, around 37 percent of Tucker County’s housing units are second homes. The county average in West Virginia is 3.9 percent, and the national average is 3.1 percent.

But property owners converting homes into Airbnbs isn’t the sole reason why housing is hard to come by in rural communities. Emily Wilson-Hauger of Elkins-based community development organization Woodlands Development and Lending, says it’s an issue that dates back to the Great Recession and housing crisis of the late 2000s.

“I think just the lack of any significant housing being built in the last, you know, 10, 12 years is at play,” Wilson-Hauger said. “High construction costs in the area, it’s pretty remote. Developable land is really hard to find.”

Old housing stock and a stagnant market led to a shrinking workforce in areas like Tucker County. In 2015, Woodlands launched an assessment of housing needs in the area.

“The bigger issue is that even at that time, the employers, the major employers and the small businesses, were saying they could not find enough workers,” Wilson-Hauger said. “Almost everyone we interviewed, every focus group, those employers attributed that to the lack of workforce housing.”

A more recent housing assessment made by economic development consulting firm Downstream Strategies says there is an estimated deficit of 321 units of workforce housing in the county.

State leaders have recognized the issue and are trying to fix it. House Bill 4502 was passed during the legislature’s last regular session, which encourages the development of new housing in the communities that need them by offering tax credits to development companies.

The bill officially took effect in September, and Chelsea Ruby says the tourism office is working with the Department of Commerce and Department of Economic Development to designate areas in the state in need of more workforce housing. She says it’s a way to support these local communities so that they can in turn support the influx of tourists.

“There are a good number of state and federal credits that help with low-income housing,” Ruby said. “But, well, we don’t have our incentive programs to help with that middle market housing, which is exactly where these houses come into play.”

Wilson-Hauger and her team at Woodlands are doing their part to help as well. They’ve just finished building an eight-unit townhouse project in Tucker County and have plans for a larger workforce housing subdivision in the future.

“All the things that go into a development like that will just take time, because we are targeting this median income range, where there’s not a lot of public subsidies to support it, like there is for very low-income households,” Wilson-Hauger said.

And though housing remains a need, they think they can strike a balance between vacation rentals and providing comfortable, long-term housing for the locals that need it.

“I use Airbnb and when I go on vacation, too, you know, they are a very fun way to experience the community and the destination, they can be a really great wealth generator for families,” Wilson-Hauger said.

Ascend’s Remote Workers Help Elevate State Tourism

The pandemic changed the ways people work. Over the past year, Ascend West Virginia has taken advantage of that change to attract remote workers – and their friends and family – to the state.

The pandemic changed the ways people work. Over the past year, Ascend West Virginia has taken advantage of that change to attract remote workers to the state.

Two years ago, Jordan Hyde didn’t think much of West Virginia. That isn’t to say she had a low opinion of the state.

“I just didn’t really have a perception of West Virginia, like I hadn’t heard much about it, didn’t know anyone from here, had never been,” she said.

So when Hyde told her friends and family last year that she was planning on moving to West Virginia from Iowa, where she lived for the past 10 years, there was a bit of confusion.

“They’re kind of like, ‘Why do you want to go out there? Like, there’s nothing there.’ And it’s like, Well, it sounds like a fun adventure,” she said.

Hyde is a member of Ascend West Virginia, a remote work and talent recruitment program founded by former Intuit CEO and president of Marshall University Brad Smith and his wife Alys Smith. The program aims to attract workers with existing jobs to move to the state and create a base of skilled employees that will then attract larger business investment. It’s a reverse of the traditional model of attracting businesses.

The program offers workers with remote jobs incentives to move. Those incentives are estimated to have a value of $20,000 and include $12,000, access to a free cowork space, and a year of free outdoor recreation. Fifty people were selected for the first group of participants, called a cohort, in Morgantown. In August applications closed for the program’s second cohort in the Greenbrier Valley.

Hyde says she’s always been inclined towards the outdoors, and the outdoor incentives only helped cement her choice. She says she looked at other programs such as Tulsa Remote in Oklahoma or Life Works Here in Bentonville, Arkansas but ultimately West Virginia’s beauty won her over.

“I think that was kind of the initial hook,” Hyde said. “But just like looking more into West Virginia, I’d never been to West Virginia and it was like, very new to me, I’ve never lived in the mountains. Again, I’m from the Midwest. So it was just exciting and beautiful, as we were looking into it, just breathtaking.”

Hyde isn’t keeping the discovery to herself.

“It is a ripple effect,” she said. “Other friends and family, my boyfriend’s and uncle that are coming, have kind of seen our parents and their experience here. And they’re like, ‘Oh, man, I want to get out there and see what it’s all about and visit them.’ So I think the tone has definitely changed for the better.”

Paris Winfrey is the experience coordinator for Ascend’s Morgantown cohort. He says that Hyde’s experience of winning over skeptical friends and relatives is not unique.

“That is one of many stories of people who have brought their loved ones and their families here,” Winfrey said. “The lack of actual experience in West Virginia is the big barrier. Once you come and experience West Virginia, it makes sense, it clicks, it immediately clicks. You see the kindness and the people, you see the beauty and nature and it all makes sense; why someone would want to live here and why someone would want to come and recreate and be a part of this.”

Winfrey, who helps Ascend cohort members make use of their outdoor benefits and plan excursions around the state, says he’s also seen a lot of in-state tourism from the group.

“They’re really interested to know Appalachia, and really interested to know West Virginians,” he said. “A lot of other people externally try to tell our story, but there are lot of people who are now interested in coming here to actually hear our story from us, which I think is a unique position that West Virginia hasn’t been in for a long time.”

West Virginia Secretary of Tourism Chelsea Ruby says that from the outset, Ascend leaders knew there would be an added benefit of cohort members attracting other people to the state. Which is why her office got involved. The scale, however, has come as a surprise.

“We knew there would be spouses, there would be partners, there would be children, but I don’t think what we calculated was the mother-in-law, the great aunts, the uncles, the friends, the others that are coming along with them,” Ruby said.

Ruby says surveys and studies her office has conducted bear out Hyde’s experience: negative public perception isn’t what’s holding West Virginia back when it comes to tourism.

“We find that people who are exposed to our ads have a different perception of West Virginia, not because they necessarily had a bad perception before, but because they had no perception,” she said. “They weren’t thinking about West Virginia, we weren’t on their radar as a place to visit or a place to live.”

Ascend worked closely with the state’s tourism office from the onset, hoping to change- or some might argue create – external perceptions of the state.

“All the things that make West Virginia a great place to visit, also make it a great place to live,” Ruby said. “If you think back to the governor’s inaugural address, he talked in that about how we need to change our state’s image. We need to change the way the outside world thinks of West Virginia, and I’m proud to say that I think five years later, we’ve really started to do that.”

One of the biggest criticisms of Ascend is that it has prioritized – and paid – non West Virginians to come to the state rather than doing the same to help native residents stay. According to the 2020 census, West Virginia experienced the largest population loss in the country as 3.2 percent of the state’s residents left. Winfrey himself left the state, and the country, for several years before returning for his job with Ascend.

“The solution can be one of two things, either you bring new people in, or you keep people from leaving,” Winfrey said. “This is not the one solution to fix anything. But we talked a lot about changing the narrative of the state. When we opened up our application, we had 10,000 people fill out an application and say, ‘I want to move to West Virginia.’ That’s huge, that is against the trends that we were heading towards.”

The Ascend West Virginia program continues to expand as another cohort moves into the Greenbrier Valley, and applicants are chosen for the program’s third cohort in the Eastern Panhandle. The hope that each group will continue what Morgantown started, and keep spreading the good word about West Virginia across the country.

Tourism Jobs Lagging, But Increases Expected

While the pandemic shook up most of the world’s economies, including tourism, it actually gave things in the Mountain State a boost.

For some, West Virginia has long been a destination for outdoor activities. Visitors have come for skiing, hiking and whitewater rafting along with riding ATVs.

While the pandemic shook up most of the world’s economies, including tourism, it actually gave things in the Mountain State a boost.

According to a press release from Gov. Jim Justice’s office, West Virginia’s tourism industry is up 3.8 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Nationally, tourism is down 27 percent compared to 2019.

Even with the increases in West Virginia, employment in the tourism industry has not kept up.

According to Chelsea Ruby, the state’s Secretary of Tourism, employment often lags a couple years behind visitor spending.

“Halfway through 2017, 2018, what we saw was traveler spending was growing really fast,” Ruby said. “We were outpacing the national rate of growth by about 58 percent. Well, then you get to 2019. And you see this, this huge increase, where employment was actually the highest it had been in the previous decade, because it was starting to catch up with that spending growth.”

According to data from Workforce West Virginia, the leisure and hospitality sector employs almost 69,000 people. But that’s actually 4,000 fewer people than in 2011. And only about 5,000 more than in 2001.

Ruby uses slightly different numbers representing only those who actually work in tourism and hospitality. Workforce West Virginia’s numbers include people who work in support industries.

“Right before the pandemic, we were at the height of where we’ve been as far as directly employed tourism employees,” she said. “And the second thing you’ll see is a gradual increase in earnings that we’ve seen as far as the ratio between earnings and in jobs. We’re starting to pay more in these positions, which I think is important to long term growth in the industry.”

Representatives from the travel and hospitality industry see the challenges ahead, but remain optimistic about the state’s potential for growth as an outdoor destination.

“The spending trends are back and better than ever,” Richie Heath, executive director of the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, said. “You’re seeing with the tourism report that spending is up over where it was in the pandemic.”

The governor’s report indicates traveler spending in West Virginia exceeded $4.9 billion in 2021. Spending for lodging alone was up more than 44 percent.

But Heath agreed that employment is still lagging. Every industry is looking for qualified workers, according to reports.

Heath said there is a wide variety of opportunities for tourism jobs beyond whitewater guides and ski instructors. Some West Virginians are taking advantage of the influx of visitors with boutique businesses like specialty stores, wedding barns, distilleries and breweries.

“You’ve got a lot of tourism activity going on in southern West Virginia now, which, obviously, has needed some of that development,” Heath said. “And we’re seeing local businesses down there, they’re now expanding. They’re doing cabins and lodging and things like that geared towards all the traffic on the Hatfield McCoy trail.”

The Hatfields and McCoys Trail is a southern West Virginia success story — on one level. It is bringing money and visitors into a region of our state that has struggled in recent years. It opened in 2000 and has grown every year since. This year, they sold 95,000 permits to ride the trails from March to November. Eighty percent of those visitors are from out of state.

For Jeffrey Lusk, the executive director of the trails system, it’s about the businesses created by West Virginians.

“We’re kind of an engine of entrepreneurship,” Lusk said. “We’ve had a lot of businesses open up around the trails. These businesses primarily are lodging. There has been some food service and stuff like that. I would call us, if I had to frame us, we’re a small regional tourist destination. That’s how you would frame us.”

Lusk explained that impact studies show the trail system brings in about $68 million in revenue. But it supports fewer than 700 direct jobs. Most of the cabins and other lodging places only employ one or two full-time employees and a few part-time cleaning people.

“It’s not an engine for jobs. It’s definitely an engine for entrepreneurship,” he said.

The pandemic was actually a bonus for the trails. Ridership grew as people were looking to do things — but be outside and away from crowds.

“When we were coming into the pandemic, we were at 55,000 riders,” Lusk said. “We came out of that at 95,000. And there’s no way I could have told you in the next 36 months, we’re going to grow 40,000 riders.”

Lusk said the trail system has about 1,000 miles of trails, but the area is saturated with trails. There are plans to expand into several more counties in the central part of the state, but he said that is years away.

They can accommodate more riders on the trails they have, but even that is limited.

“I’m just gonna say we’re maybe at 50 percent capacity,” he said. “I think if you doubled what we had, I think you would get to a point where it would start to diminish the quality for the person.”

One of the big questions when it comes to tourism is — do tourism jobs replace the manufacturing or mining jobs the state has lost over the years?

Jordan Nuzum, the communications director for the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, noted that the expected jobs aren’t all entry level, minimum wage type positions.

“Between now and 2025, I think they said that they’re expecting about 24,000 job openings in hospitality and tourism, and 13,000 of those, so over half, would be management style jobs,” Nuzum said.

The state recently received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Rather than investing that money into advertising or infrastructure, Tourism secretary Ruby said the state chose to use the grant for education.

“We felt like we were doing well in those other two areas, but felt like this was an area where we should focus,” she said. “We’ll start with middle school curriculum development, we’ll be creating pathways in high school, so kids can start earning college credits while they’re in high school towards hospitality degrees, we’ll be looking at creating new training programs for all the hospitality workers.”

Ruby said she thinks this is a field more West Virginians should be looking at.

“The hospitality industry is one of the only ones where you can start at the very bottom and move all the way up to the top,” she said. “A quarter of these jobs are going to be management level jobs. They’re going to be six figure salaries. Those are the types of things that we need to be telling kids and other West Virginians who are looking for employment, that this is an industry that’s growing, this is an exciting industry.”

First Fall Foliage Map Released

The first signs of leaves changing colors are a little behind schedule, but starting to show in higher elevations, according to the first fall foliage tracker of the season produced by the West Virginia Division of Forestry.

To access the live leaf map, along with the latest updates, happenings and insider tips around fall in Almost Heaven, visit WVtourism.com/fall.

The first signs of leaves changing colors are a little behind schedule but starting to show in higher elevations, according to the first fall foliage tracker of the season produced by the West Virginia Division of Forestry.

The mountains of Pocahontas and Tucker counties, along with Spruce Knob are dotted with splashes of red, orange and yellow and should reach peak color the first weekend of October.

Species of maples are beginning to turn, including red and sugar. Oak and Hickory trees will follow soon behind.

“Due to the warmer weather West Virginia has experienced this month, fall color is a bit slower moving into the mountains this season,” said Division of Forestry Director Tom Cover. “However, fall color is, in fact, beginning to make an appearance in the highest elevations around the state. This once-a year-event won’t last long, so be sure to get out and enjoy it while you can.”

West Virginia is the third most forested state in the country and has plenty of trails to view the foliage. The West Virginia Division of Forestry and the Department of Tourism have put together a list of more than 1,500 miles of hiking trails in areas to get the best hiking and foliage experience.

Featured Hikes

Seneca Rocks Trail

Moderate | 3.6 out and back
Beginning at the Seneca Rocks Trailhead, this uphill climb rewards guests with an up-close-and-personal view of one of West Virginia’s best-known landmarks. This trail features benches along the way, as well as picnic areas and a visitor center.

Lindy Point Overlook

Easy | 0.8 mile out and back
Lindy Point Overlook is an easy hike that leads to the most iconic scenic overlook within Blackwater Falls State Park, overlooking the Blackwater Canyon at 3,000 feet below. There is a small parking area at the trailhead and dogs are welcome, as long as they are on a leash.

Whispering Spruce Trail and Spruce Knob

Easy | 0.6 mile out and back
Part of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, this trail peeks into the North Fork Valley of the Allegheny Mountains with exceptional views. Feel the west wind blow as you wind through windblown rock before coming to an open field full of scattered boulders.

Blackwater Falls Overlook

Accessible | 0.2 mile
This overlook is reached by taking the park’s Gentle Trail which is accessible for visitors using wheelchairs, mobility equipment and strollers. The paved path leads to a wooden boardwalk that gives expansive views of the park’s namesake falls.

Shavers Lake, Bail Out, 6,000 Steps and Cheat Mountain Ridge Trail

Moderate | 6.4 mile out and back
Take this Snowshoe Mountain trek to gain over 1,000 feet in elevation and be prepared for steep portions along the way. Following this route will lead to the Fire Tower, which can be climbed for additional autumn mountain views.

AllTrails Partnership

AllTrails and the West Virginia Department of Tourism are working together to offer hikers a free, one-year AllTrails Pro membership. With AllTrails Pro, users can download offline maps, unlock more map details and view 3D maps. For more official information on the partnership, visit wvtourism.com/alltrails/.

“We welcome all travelers to visit West Virginia this fall season to experience the incredible hiking, leaf peeping opportunities and more,” said West Virginia Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby. “Our forests and mountaintops come alive with hues of red, orange and yellow, creating beautiful views. We’re excited to team up with AllTrails to help travelers discover and explore the incredible fall hiking trails we have.”

The West Virginia Department of Tourism’s live leaf tracker will be updated daily, featuring photos from social media.