Hotel Room Boom | Jason Sandford of AshVegas

New hotels are blooming in and around Asheville like wildflowers in the spring. Some are new construction. Other projects, particularly in the River Arts District, plan to repurpose older buildings. But the connecting thread is undeniable—this city’s dependence and deference to tourism is only deepening. Today’s guest, Jason Sandford, is the founding journalist of AshVegas, who now channels most of his work through the AshVegas Substack newsletter. He talks with host Matt Peiken about the political maneuvering that paved Asheville’s hotel boom, the restricted waterfall of money coming in every year through occupancy taxes and the efforts of handcuffed city leaders to address issues connected with the hotel rush.