Short-term Rentals In Waterbury Are About To Change

The beginning of the end for hourly motel rentals in Connecticut has started in Waterbury after the city's Board of Aldermen passed a new ordinance last evening prohibiting hotels and motels in the Brass City from renting rooms for less than twelve hours.

According to wfsb.com, the ordinance which was initially proposed by Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski could potentially be in effect by October 2025 after being added to Waterbury's city charter. Waterbury Big Apple Motel has often drawn social and traditional media attention due to the numerous reported instances of drug, prostitution, human trafficking, and violent crimes that occurred at or in the vicinity of the motel.

Could Waterbury's New Ordinance Curb the Incidents?

I spent a few years working in the hospitality industry in Waterbury back in the day, and hourly rentals will occur no matter the price or time limit that the city sets. What this ordinance will stop is the rental of the room again in a twelve-hour time period. It will not stop someone from renting a room at the Hampton Inn or Courtyard for $200 and keep you there for half a day, you could leave after conducting whatever business you have to take care of.

The motels that line the Berlin Turnpike in the greater Hartford area and the smaller hotels along the Post Road and the Connecticut shoreline should watch what happens in Waterbury over the next month, and you too Naugatuck Motor Lodge, a one-hour-stand may soon be extinct around here.