HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 13 _ Written Communications _ ChoiMarch 15, 2021
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Chula Vista City Hall
276 Fourth Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910
RE: Item 21-0055 - Short Term Rentals
Dear Mayor Salas and Councilmembers,
On behalf of Airbnb, I would like to thank you for taking input from stakeholders on the City’s
proposed short term rental pilot program. We appreciate your efforts to craft short term rental
rules and commend you for taking an important first step toward recognizing home sharing as a
valuable part of your city’s economy.
Our people-to-people platform democratizes the benefits of tourism to entire communities,
including those that have not traditionally benefited from tourism. Airbnb was founded in 2008
and has since grown into a global company with 5.6 million active listings around the world, and
370 in the City of Chula Vista. Over 800 million guests have stayed in a home on the Airbnb
platform, and hosts worldwide have earned over $110 billion in extra income.
We understand that your city is at the beginning of a legislative process to consider regulations
for the short term rental industry. We hope to engage with you in crafting reasonable and
enforceable laws that legalize what is now a critical source of additional income for homeowners.
Many of our hosts have been impacted by the global pandemic, and the extra income from
hosting is now more vital than ever. We have worked with hundreds of cities around the world to
address concerns about perceived impacts to quality of life and housing, and are committed to
working with you to bring responsible home sharing and its benefits to Chula Vista.
Hosted and Unhosted Home Stays
We urge the city to consider permitting both hosted and unhosted home stays, as limiting to
hosted stays is restrictive and difficult to enforce. Many hosts on our platform rent their homes
occasionally, while they are away for a week or weekend. Requiring hosts to be present during a
rental would limit these residents’ ability to earn supplemental income. Moreover, it would
decrease the potential for revenues from the city’s transient lodging tax, a revenue source that
1
Item 13 - Written Communications - Choi
may be useful in monitoring and enforcing regulatory code compliance as well as in economic
recovery. Most importantly, it is impossible for cities to enforce the distinction between hosted
and unhosted stays without running afoul of core privacy laws. Regulators often have no
information about whether the host is home, making it difficult to determine whether a violation of
the law has occurred.
There are other more effective policy tools that Chula Vista can use to address noise, nuisance
and safety concerns. While the overwhelming majority of Airbnb hosts and guests are good
neighbors who respect the communities where they live and visit, we recognize the importance
of addressing these issues head-on. A common approach that cities take to ensure accountability
and oversight for renters is to require hosts to identify a local contact person. This person must
be available to respond to any complaints within a reasonable timeframe. In addition, Airbnb’s
global Neighborhood Support Page and 24/7 Hotline provides further support to cities in
ensuring the safety of hosts, their neighborhoods and guests. Anyone can go to
airbnb.com/neighbors or call us directly at (855) 635-7754 to share specific concerns they might
have about a listing in their community -- whether it is about unauthorized parties, unsafe
behavior, trash or other disturbances. We want to make sure that we can help resolve complaints
about disturbances or nuisance in the communities our hosts call home, and commit to following
up on every inquiry related to an Airbnb listing that we receive through this channel, investigate
violations to our policies, and take appropriate action when necessary. The small number of bad
actors who repeatedly fail to address complaints or live up to our standards and expectations
may be permanently banned from the Airbnb community.
Legalize Vacation Rentals
We urge the city to consider allowing vacation rentals, or entire homes primarily dedicated to
transient accommodations. First, vacation rentals have long been part of the Chula Vista
community, and a strict ban will discourage compliance with the law and may actually drive
hosting activity underground. A reasonable limit on vacation rentals, by contrast, would increase
compliance with the law.
Second, vacation rentals have provided low-cost options for Californians wishing to visit the coast
for decades, offering a significantly different experience than staying in a hotel or camping. Chula
Vista’s prime location nearby Southern California beaches makes the city an attractive destination
for families and visitors, who may prefer the conveniences that vacation rentals offer -- from
greater privacy and access to a full kitchen, to gathering spaces and multiple bedrooms and
bathrooms. Often, they are available at a more affordable price point for families traveling with
children. Completely prohibiting vacation rentals makes staying in Chula Vista more unaffordable
and will drive tourism dollars to other beachside cities in the region.
The California Coastal Act was created to protect and preserve California’s iconic coastline and
beaches and to ensure that everyone has maximum access to this precious resource. Today,
however, this access is being threatened by the high cost of coastal real estate, which has
2
Item 13 - Written Communications - Choi
pushed many Californians to move inland, farther away from the coast in search of affordable
housing. Numerous studies have found that while visiting the coast is highly desired by most
Californians, many feel that a visit is simply too costly. Economy class hotels along the coast have
closed at a far greater rate than other more expensive types of accommodations. The lack of
affordable accommodation along the coast creates a significant barrier to access and makes it
harder for low and middle-income families to visit. In this setting, short term rentals offer a
solution, allowing for the use of property otherwise unoccupied and may offer much needed
income to hosts in expensive coastal communities. They also make sense economically in
communities where demand is highly seasonal. Building new hotels to serve a demand for a few
months of the year makes little sense, and hotels must charge high rates in peak summer months
to remain economically viable. Short term rentals offer competitive prices and flexible supply,
thus bringing in visitors who may not have otherwise been able to access the coast.
Finally, vacation rentals are an important option for travelers during the ongoing global pandemic.
They enable guests to practice social distancing measures and minimize exposure to others
while traveling. Our recent surveys show an increased demand for this type of isolated stay -- a
trend we anticipate may continue into the foreseeable future due to COVID-19. Banning vacation
rentals would run counter these new travel trends.
Mandatory Tax Collection
Lastly, Airbnb is committed to partnering with governments on effective and accurate tax
collection. We collect and remit taxes on behalf of hosts in more than 650 jurisdictions globally,
generating more than $2.6 billion in hotel and tourist taxes to date. Many of these agreements
are voluntary. Because not all hosting platforms are similarly inclined, we suggest that the City of
Chula Vista require all hosting platforms to collect and remit applicable taxes on behalf of users.
This ensures that operators on a platform do not simply migrate to another to avoid paying taxes.
We respectfully submit these comments and request that the City Council consider allowing both
hosted and unhosted home stays, as well as vacation rentals. We would also respectfully ask to
be included as a stakeholder in the on-going discussions. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
John Choi
Policy Manager, California
Cc: Maria Kachadoorian, City Manager
3
Item 13 - Written Communications - Choi