One day after the deadline for Airbnb and other short-term rental hosts to register withy the city came to pass, a representative for a building offering the only short-term rentals in the Back Bay outlined plans to continue the operation at the monthly meeting of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay Licensing and Building Use Committee on Dec. 2 at the Lenox Hotel.
The building at 245 Newbury St., which the current owner purchased in 2007, is home to 12 lodging units, one apartment and two retail spaces, and has offered short-term rentals since 2008.
“We’ve been in compliance since 2008…and we’re looking to comply with the new regulations,” said Frank Hoff, adding that guest stays in the short-term units typically “run a couple of weeks on average.”
The applicant doesn’t yet have a date scheduled with the city’s Licensing Board, Hoff said.
Elliot Laffer, committee chair, said NABB would like to keep the number of short-term rental units in the neighborhood to a minimum. “It sounds like you’re basically running a hotel,” he added.
•In another matter, applicant Alex Winston outlined plans to open a smoothie bar at 419 Boylston St. that would also offer prepared snacks, yogurt and pudding, as well as coffee and tea.
Winston, who also owns and operates Cyromed Boston, a wellness center located at 252 Boylston St., with his wife Daniela, said they are looking to expand the business into 419 Boylston St.
Winston said the smoothie bar would offer outdoor seating at four tables, but he emphasized that he was “not looking tom open an outdoor café.” Its proposed hours of operation would be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, he said.
•The committee also heard an application from the Loews Hotel to change the use of its patio from seasonal to year-round to accommodate pop-ups and other special events.