Matthew DeFeo for BI

Boulder is finally embracing short-term rentals … on a short-term basis.

The city is lifting its long-standing ban on most Airbnbs, allowing permanent residents to rent out their homes during four weeks spanning January and February. It's a potential model for other cities looking to dabble with the short-term rental market again.

Boulder's shift is due to the arrival of The Sundance Film Festival. The college town is replacing Park City as the host of the iconic independent film festival for the next decade. But with roughly 100,000 expected visitors and only 3,000 hotel rooms, the local government needed to get creative.

Now residents are hoping to lure film enthusiasts into their homes, erasing some mortgage payments in the process.

BI's James Rodriguez has the full rundown on the Boulder community's crash course on the short-term rental business .

Some residents are already having an Instagram-vs-reality moment when it comes to pricing their abodes.…