CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Linda Walsh and Patricia Fort have both lived on North Padre Island for more than a decade.
They haven't been bothered by house parties in their neighborhoods, but they know plenty of people who have.
“They complain about it, because it is too loud, and there’s a lot of traffic," Fort said.
"The parties — I mean, they go on until midnight or later," Walsh said. "Our noise ordinance is ten o’clock here I believe. Nobody abides by that when they come down to rent."
Short-term renters throwing parties and disrupting nearby permanent residents is why Airbnb recently announced the suspension of more than 80 listings across Texas including at least one in Corpus Christi.
"Issues raised by Texans through this hotline led directly to many of the listing suspensions," a press release from the company stated.
Airbnb wouldn't officially disclose how many Corpus Christi listings the company suspended or where they are located within the city.
A search on airbnb.com shows a cluster of listings on North Padre Island. Some of them are near single-family homes where short term rentals aren't allowed per a city ordinance.
"I actually applaud Airbnb for making those tough decisions," Visit Corpus Christi President and CEO Brett Oetting said. "Out on our islands there’s a very healthy mix of short-term rental homes and residential homes in very close proximity to each other."
Oetting said the short-term rental industry is important to the local economy by bringing in tourists who spend money at restaurants and other establishments.
But if those tourists violate rules and become disruptive, something needs to be done about it.
"We need to make sure that everything that we’re doing and promoting is good -- not just for tourism -- but good for residents," Oetting said.
And residents like Walsh are ready to fight back if short-term rental parties come to her neighborhood.
“If that happened here, and we had the problems, I definitely would complain about it," she said.
