Popular tourist hotspot goes to war with Airbnb guests over booming music, fireworks at 1am and wild hot tub parties

A popular Minnesota vacation spot is cracking down on rowdy Airbnb guests after a slew of complaints from local homeowners.

A picturesque area about a two-hour drive from Minneapolis, Otter Tail County is known for its breathtaking waterfront views in a county that prides itself on being home to “more than 1,000 lakes.”

But in recent years it has slowly become a hotbed for rowdy lakeside parties and debaucherous bachelorette parties that last well into the night.

After backlash from homeowners missing their lost sense of peace and quiet, the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners voted this week to crack down on rental occupancy and noise levels.

The patio of one of the enormous eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom homes on Clitherall Lake – for $1,000 a night

On the popular rental site Airbnb, beautiful lake homes can be rented for up to $1,000 per night, many with hot tubs and piers for jet skis and boating. In total, Otter Tail County has more than 300 vacation rentals available through the app.

However, the luxurious accommodations are in stark contrast to social media images showing partygoers drinking on many of Otter Tail County’s lakes, reports the Star Tribune.

Local homeowner Steve Eriksson told the newspaper that his neighbor had put their house up for rent, which brought in a whole group of unruly guests who partied until the early hours.

“It’s kind of in the back of my mind: Every time a place comes up for sale, I’m afraid it’s going to be an Airbnb,” he said.

Eriksson’s neighbor received the most complaints out of all the hundreds of vacation homes dotted around the lakes, and he said guests routinely partied on the water and set off fireworks until 1 a.m.

Christopher LeClair of Otter Tail County Land & Resource Management pushed for stricter Airbnb reforms

This cabin in Battle Lake, Minnesota, is available on Airbnb for $649 per night and features five bedrooms and three bathrooms

Stunning lake views and beauty and tranquility abound on this two-acre wooded estate on Minnesota’s First Silver Lake

After a flood of complaints, the Supervisory Board introduced a whole series of new regulations this week.

This included mandating quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., banning the use of RVs, tents or fishing huts for additional guests, and limiting the number of residents based on the number of beds or size of the home septic systems.

The maximum number of guests is also set during the day, rather than just at night, to reduce the number of people on the lakes.

Chris LeClair, the council’s land and resources manager, said of the changes: ‘Vacation property owners need to be aware of disrupting the peace and quiet of neighbours, so we are trying to ensure these can co-exist.’

However, some locals consider this move excessive.

When the new measures were voted on this week, only one member of the board, Commissioner Dan Bucholz, voted against the measures, fearing it could hinder the city’s summer tourism boom now that the new laws take effect July 1 would come into force.

Bucholz said that if the regulation were to be implemented, he would want to wait until at least January 2025, as he believed the measures could impact Airbnb users who already had bookings for the summer and who may have to cancel the invitation of guests must withdraw to comply with the policy.

“It’s like moving the 40-yard line,” he told the Star Tribune. “And I don’t think that’s fair.”

Another local resident who owned a rental home on the lakes, Chris Buttke, added that the vote “seems to me like more ammunition for the angry neighbor who doesn’t want it.”

“Not all guys are good guys, but you don’t know that until you get there,” Buttke said. “It’s just no different than someone’s kids having a party when they’re away. I mean, you don’t have much control over that.’

Only a fraction of the hundreds of vacation rentals that go online end up causing problems, but it’s those few that have resulted in the need for regulation.

Neighbors living next to holiday homes hope a new law introduced on July 1 will bring some respite after years of big, loud parties

“Vacation property owners need to be aware of disturbing the peace of their neighbors, so we try to ensure that these can coexist,” LeClair said.

Failure to comply with any of the restrictions may result in license suspension or revocation.

A couple rents out their lake cabin and only seven guests are allowed in their two-bedroom home.

“There are a lot of things we don’t allow in our own vacation rental anyway, so most of it won’t impact us,” say Franci and Dan Gleason.

Their biggest concern, however, is that they could be held liable for any civil or criminal penalties imposed on behalf of tenants.

“Somehow I will be responsible and someone can sue me and confiscate my property because of a stupid frisbee or because the dog got loose,” she said.