South Haven, Michigan, is a very special place for so many people, their families, and their friends. There is something magical about South Haven, attracting massive seasonal, generational tourism to its pristine, blonde sandy shores along Lake Michigan. Locals from Galesburg, Comstock, Kalamazoo, as well as those from Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis, can be found looking for parking, strolling down the streets, and filling the air with laughter, giggles, and love daily throughout the summer months.
Tourists from places like Germany, Korea, and Norway also come to enjoy life in this premier Great Lakes vacation destination. Some visitors decide to stay, while others who have been coming to "SoHa" with their families for decades eventually choose to make it their home. This phenomenon has been ongoing for generations.
The trend began in the 1980s when one visionary saw the potential to transform this sleepy fishing village into a thriving tourist destination.
FUN FACT:
"The 2022 economic impact numbers are in and it’s apparent that Michigan’s tourism industry has rebounded from pandemic-related declines in visitation and visitor spending that began in the spring of 2020. Tourism Economics tells us that visitation neared pre-pandemic levels, growing 7.6 million to 125 million in 2022–just 600,000 travelers shy of the total number of visitors in 2019. Visitor spending surpassed pre-pandemic levels, growing $3.3 billion to reach $27.3 billion in 2022, 4% above 2019...[t]he tourism industry supported a total of 324,220 jobs in 2022, 1-in-18 jobs in the state, and provided $14.2 billion in wages and proprietor income to Michigan workers." - https://bit.ly/46ZzIVP
Those who chose to stay
Those who chose to stay, those who fell in love with this amazing place had to find a way to afford to do so. Every generation that has experienced the magic and decided to invest in South haven, had to find a way to do so. Some were fortunate enough to buy their perfect vacation home out of pocket, others were able to do so because the cost of housing was attainable in the 1980's - but even then, some people still had to rent out their home until they were able to retire to make their mortgage. Short Term Rentals in South Haven is not a new thing. It didn't start because AirBnB or VRBO were created. It has been here for decades. Shores Vacation.
Rentals has operated for over 40 years in South Haven, renting out the dreams of Homeowners and making their dream affordable
Has the Short-Term Rental business increased? Sure it has! For several reasons. Just think how much South Haven spends a year to promote Tourism - sure, some of it is grant money from the State, some of it is from the Pure Michigan Campaign Funding, and some of it could be from the South Haven Visitors Bureau. Tons of money is spent each year to promote South Haven Tourism. The more people who come here each year, creates more who will fall in love and want to live here. Out of those people, they will have to determine how to afford their dream home too.
According to Money.com, 40% of Millennials are buying Vacation Homes, making them the largest purchasing power in America Real Estate. They are also choosing to use their purchase to generate wealth for themselves before they are ready to be full-time Homeowners, getting the "Best of Two Worlds."
Short Term Rentals help bring the American Dream closer to families that perhaps couldn't afford it any other way. Some argue that if they can't afford the mortgage then they shouldn't be able to buy it in the first place - and how Un-American is that!? We should be happy to see our neighbors investing in their dreams - even if, our neighbors don't live next door full time yet.
Those who currently have the opportunity to stay here, move here, live here "full-time" are so very lucky. However, 50% of those that can afford to live here, leave South Haven in the winter and go south to where its warm.
Some of those that can afford to live here now full time, retired here - after fully falling in love with SoHa like so many of the STR Homeowners decades ago.
Traditionally, these would be considered “second homes” — properties bought years after buying and settling into a primary house. Now, they’re often the first real estate purchase a consumer ever makes.
As Nicole Bachaud, an economist at Zillow, puts it, “Millennials and Gen Z are already ready to start realizing the benefits of homeownership … but many aren’t necessarily ready to be full-time homeowners just yet.”
‘The best of both worlds’
It might seem like putting the cart before the horse, but for these buyers, it’s a strategic, win-win arrangement: They earn extra income, build wealth and have a property they can escape to whenever they please.
For Millennials, the Vacation House Is the New Starter Home | Money
We are your Neighbors, and we look forward to living here full time as soon as possible.
"The findings from the research focus on the economic impacts of STRs on the study area. It is acknowledged that there are strong emotional impacts, both pro and con, to the discussion. While some of these impacts are captured in this document, it is not the focus of the research.
As might have been expected, STRs have an impact on South Haven. While STRs have a positive impact on the economy, from both jobs and personal income perspectives, they also appear to drive the prices of real estate."
Our Rentals help create Diversity, Employment and a Vibrant Downtown.
According to the February 21, 2023 Report prepared by Robey Analytics, LLC, titled Estimating the Economic Impacts of Short-Term Rentals on the City of South Haven, Michigan:
"There was strong agreement that tourism will remain a major economic development driver for the city. Moreover, all agreed that tourism supports a diversity of activities and restaurants in the city that are not found in silmilar communities. In short, the downtown of South Haven would be less vibrant without tourism and the existence of STRs."
"STRs have a positive economic impact on the city through visitors’ expenditures and the demand by STR owners for operations, including (but not limited to) building maintenance and cleaning support services. These are the impacts that this study is designed to estimate. Several stakeholders claimed that STRs have changed the city’s tourism season from being based solely on weekend day trippers to week-long vacationers. Some also argued that STRs are lengthening the city’s tourism season. Evidence suggests that STRs are contributing to tourism getting “broader shoulders” with more spring and fall visitors. Even winter vacationers are increasing in numbers, especially during the holiday season. One STR owner said that he had only three vacated weekends last year. According to the data from AirDNA6, there was a 33% occupancy rate for the city’s STRs in January of 2022."
To read the whole report "click" the button to the right -->
"We ARE!" your Neighbors!"
Community Stakeholder Forums
Shores Vacation Rentals’ "We ARE Your Neighbors!" Initiative aims to bring together a Committee of Stakeholders—residents, short-term homeowners, community leaders, and local businesses—united by a shared desire to see South Haven and its residents thrive. This Committee will work collaboratively to address challenges, seek balanced solutions, and foster a sense of unity and mutual respect. Our goal is to turn potential conflicts into opportunities for understanding and problem solving, envisioning a South Haven that remains a vibrant, inclusive community for all who live, visit, and work here.
This Committee will serve as a Unsolicited Public Advisory Board; work will be documented and sent to the City Council and Zoning Board.
We ARE your Neighbors Forum News
We will be posting news about upcoming events, highlights, notes, outlines, agendas, presentations and any outcomes that come out of these forums within 72 hours of last meeting; unless there are issues with uploading things of such nature, t hen it will fall into the ASAP category. The We ARE your Neighbors Forums are NOT currently open to the public - these forums are by invite only. If you would like to be considered for, or feel you are entitled to an invite, please email us at: rich@shoresofsouthhaven.com.
December 12, 2024 Event
Drinks and hors d'oeuvres
will be served from 6-6:30 pm.
The goal of this first forum is to connect and meet each other, speak to the seriousness that we can all be a part of the growth in South Haven if we can learn to respect each other's rights and opinions, and introduce the "Middle Ground" approach to all of the Stakeholders.
A date for the 2nd Forum will be announced; at this Forum, Stakeholders will present their concerns and "counter offers." A moderated discussion will happen after presentations.
Robert's Rules of Order will be the proper etiquette for discussions during meetings chaired by SVR.
Agenda
6:00 - 6:20 pm Drinks and hors d'oeuvres.
6:20 - 6:30 pm Call to Order.
6:30 - 7:00 pm Introduction - Rules of Engagement and Behavior.
7:00 - 8:30 pm Middle Ground Presentation(s).
8:30 - 8:50 pm Questions & Answers about presentation.
8:50 - 9:00 pm Closing Statements
Ideally, at the next forum group members will come with ideas for solutions to each problem identified. These solutions will be briefly discussed and documented. The problem for next forum will be identified/modified and group members will then be able to go back to their organizations and discuss outcomes, solutions and new problems identified that need solutions.
Documented work from all the forums that provide agreeable solutions will be forwarded to the City of South Haven.
