Over the course of many years, short-term rentals listed on platforms like Airbnb have seen explosive growth, which has profoundly affected Massachusetts’ neighborhoods, especially in more urban areas, by reducing housing stock and contributing to skyrocketing rents. Neighbors are disturbed by round-the-clock comings and goings of complete strangers and the inevitable noise, trash, and general nuisance that often accompany these visitors.

For these reasons and more, cities and towns across the Commonwealth, including Cambridge and Boston, have passed ordinances bringing common-sense rules to the short-term rental market. These municipalities and many others need statewide action in order to effectively enforce these rules and to levy a fair share of taxes on these businesses, such as the ones traditional lodging businesses have always paid.

That is why the members of the Massachusetts Lodging Association were disappointed that Governor Baker chose not to sign a reasonable and thoughtful bill passed by the Legislature that would have brought some sanity to the short-term rental industry and created a more level tax and regulatory playing field between these businesses and traditional lodgers (“Airbnb measure is again up in the air,’’ Metro, Aug. 2).

With so much work having gone into crafting this legislation, we retain hope that the relatively small differences that led the governor to return the bill to the Legislature can be resolved.

We urge lawmakers to take this final step so that Massachusetts does not remain the only New England state lacking a policy on short-term rentals.

Paul Sacco

President and CEO

Massachusetts Lodging Association

Boston