The Enterprise – Falmouth
By ERIC TURKINGTON
Mar 21, 2025
Back in the 1950s, like many other Falmouth families when summer came, the Turkington family went into the lodging business. The “ROOMS” sign went up, and visitors in town for their summer vacation found accommodations for their stay in the Turkington home.
Providing rooms, or whole houses, for summer visitors has been an integral part of the town’s economy for more than 100 years. Today these accommodations are termed short-term rentals, and almost all nowadays are booked on Airbnb and similar websites.
The state Department of Revenue reports that currently Falmouth has 1,589 such accommodations available. Subtracting those that are owner occupied, listed as “rooms” or rented for less than 15 days a year, there are at least 1,250 homes here currently available as short-term rentals—over 5% of the town’s total housing stock.
