A major paradigm shift’: New Orleans hires former short-term rental executive to lead land

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The city of New Orleans has hired Peter Bowen, the former general manager of major short-term rental operator Sonder, as the city’s new deputy chief administrative officer of land use. In his new position, Bowen will manage and oversee major departments including the Department of Code Enforcement and the Department of Safety and Permits, whose long list of responsibilities includes short-term rental permitting and enforcement. 

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In an interview, Gilbert Montaño — the city’s Chief Administration Officer and top aide to Mayor LaToya Cantrell — told The Lens that the new office represented “a major paradigm shift” and an attempt to blend the city’s land use regulation departments with its economic development initiatives.

Broadly, the aim of the new office is to present New Orleans as “the world’s best city to do business.” 

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Bowen’s new position caught the attention of some affordable housing advocates on Monday due to his former job as general manager of Sonder — a San Francisco-based company that has grown to be one of the largest operators of short-term rentals in New Orleans. In the resume he submitted for the job, Bowen claimed that during his tenure at Sonder he “Blitz Scaled the New Orleans market for Sonder from launch to 1,000 apartments (2,500 rooms) in under 36 months.” 

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“New Orleans is about to enter an unprecedented eviction crisis, so it’s deeply concerning that the city is putting people like Peter Bowen–who profited off of the evictions of our residents to make way for wealthy tourists–in charge of regulatory and policy reform,” Cashuana Hill, executive director of the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, said in an emailed statement.

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