FOR RENT:  Realtors say the summer rental business has slowed, but vacationers will still pay top-dollar to stay near the beach.

The Newport Daily News, May 26-27, 2007 by James J. Gillis, Daily News Staff Writer

...Laurie Hewitt, an agent for Lila Delman Real Estate, deals with high-end property and estates.  She said people ask for weekly rentals in Newport and are told the law excludes them.  City officials have stayed steadfast through the years in prohibiting the weekly option.

Hewitt said she has had good luck placing people in spots in Middletown, where rents can run in the $6,000-a-week range.  "There are some, though, who only want to be in Newport.  They want to be within walking distance to everything.  But we have to tell them there are no weekly rentals."

If the city changed its stance, the real estate agents said people would spend lavishly on weekly rentals.  "I know there are people who would pay $30,000 a week to stay in some of the estate property,"  Hewitt said.  "It's too bad they haven't changed the policy..."

.

The Newport Daily News, May 26-27, 2007

By James J. Gillis, Daily News Staff Writer