Multi-day bicycle camping tour highlights natural beauty of San Diego
Thanks to A7D of North Park for design work!
Bike San Diego has had a busy year to date, adding many new events like the Beach Side Bike Ride from Old Town to La Jolla in July, the Bike Month Bash along El Cajon Boulevard in May, and the upcoming Bike to the Border ride from Barrio Logan to the Mexico border later this month on September 19. In October another new event, the biggest for the organization to date, will debut. America’s Finest Bicycle Tour (AFBT), will showcase the natural beauty of San Diego and present an opportunity to connect with fellow participants.
AFBT is a three night bicycle tour of San Diego County with vehicle support for participants. Vehicle support means that participants won’t have to lug their camping gear or clothes while they ride – their belongings will await them at each day’s destination. Campsites are provided for each night, as is dinner and breakfast each day. Food and beverages for the event feature San Diego establishments like Modern Times Beer, City Tacos, Golden Cost Mead, and other great local companies.
The three campsites are Sweetwater Summit, Dos Picos near Ramona, and Carlsbad State Beach – a variety of camping locations that give a broad view of the diversity of topography and climate present in San Diego. Below is a map of the route, click through for a dynamic map you can manipulate for additional detail.
2015 Inaugural AFBT Route
Cost for the event is $205 through September 26, increasing to $255 thereafter. There is limited capacity for the event so interested parties are encouraged to register early to ensure a spot. All proceeds benefit Bike San Diego, an organization working to “establish San Diego as a world-class bicycling city and create a more livable urban community by promoting everyday riding and advocating for bicycling infrastructure.”
For more details and to register see the official website – bikesandiegocounty.org. For inquiries or questions please contact event organizer Tim Stempel at tim@bikesandbeers.org.
As the Airbnb debate continues in San Diego, I found it interesting to receive a warning letter from my previous apartment manager, Torrey Pines Property Management this week informing tenants that using sites like Airbnb is not allowed in the buildings they manage. I contacted Torrey Pines and was informed that this is a proactive measure to avoid issues in future, not in response to issues that have occurred. Good for them for taking a proactive, informative approach to the issue.
I wanted to share this since there are likely many San Diegans that would like to utilize sites like Airbnb to rent a spare room, or their apartment while they are out of town. If you rent a property, or live in a building or community with an HOA it is important to check the terms or covenants, conditions, and restrictions before trying to host a guest on these platforms. Note that this may also be the case even if you’re not receiving money by using a site like HomeExchange or Couchsurfing.
In addition to issues with your landlord, renting a room in your apartment or home is currently illegal in the City of San Diego and you may be liable for tens of thousands of dollars in fines as a woman in Burlingame has found out. To date, this is the only penalty of this sort in San Diego but the Code Enforcement Division will be responding to complaints about this sort of use in the future and I assume pursuing violators with the same vigor as the Burlingame case. Per conversations with Code Enforcement any enforcement will be complaint-driven – they won’t be using the publicly accessible information on sites like Airbnb and VRBO to identify potential violations.
If your lease doesn’t allow you to host on Airbnb but you think it would be beneficial try talking to your landlord. Some landlords are willing to allow the use if you agree to take liability for any issues caused or may be willing to allow it for an increase in your rent payments. I know a couple of people personally using this approach, and in San Francisco it worked out for a couple as well.
Kelsey and Mike Sheofsky achieved that balance. The couple travel frequently for Shelter Co., their luxury-camping business. They had dabbled with the idea of listing their Mission District house on Airbnb. Then their landlord approached them.
“She said, ‘What do you think about Airbnb-ing your place when you’re gone?’ ” Kelsey Sheofsky said. “I thought, ‘Perfect, we’re ready to go.’ Now we do it, and we give her a 20 percent cut of any money we make after cleaning expenses. Some months we give her an extra 600 bucks.”
Your landlord may or may not be open to Airbnb – make sure you are informed and if you have a question make sure to ask.
Our most recent Airbnb stay was in Budapest adjacent the Opera House.
Below is the letter from Torrey Pines in full.
Dear Resident(s):
The increasingly popular site airbnb.com where individuals can post short-term, vacation rentals is a growing concern for Landlords in San Diego due to the noise, strain on resources, and lack of regard for the property that comes from using any residence as a “Hotel” or “Bed and Breakfast”.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind our valued Residents that posting your apartment on this, or a similar site is considered a breach of contract and could result in legal action including eviction from the premises.
We take this matter very seriously and will be moving forward with legal action should your unit be located on a listing site for the purpose of subletting without our expressed written consent. Please contact your Property Manager if you have any questions or wish to report suspect or known violations.
Sincerely,
Torrey Pines Property Managment, Inc.
(858) 454-4200
www.torreypinespm.com
Ocean Beach is one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Diego. It’s where our family typically goes for beach trips and I recommend it as a great place to visit for all our friends and family from out of town. Recently I rediscovered a great pocket beach in Ocean Beach at the foot of Santa Cruz Street, dubbed “Santa Cruz Cove”. Officially, the beach is known as Santa Cruz Avenue Beach but I like the Cove version better.
The beach is a great spot to take our young children due to the wide variety of natural elements present. There are two separate sand beach areas with waves that are mostly gentle and the ocean floor has a gradual slope so you can swim out and remain in mostly shallow water. Tide pools are present with a variety of anemones, crabs, snails, and other small wildlife. There are rocks to climb (and jump off of) and you can adventure north or south along the coast for more exploring. If you enjoy the sound of waves crashing it’s a great place since the cliffs rise quickly behind the beaches, amplifying the sound.
There are typically not many people at Santa Cruz Cove so it’s also a good place for sunbathing, reading, or taking a nap.
The main negatives are that there is not a public restroom near (the closest is the lifeguard tower north of the pier) and there can be trash issues at times.
To reach Santa Cruz Cove walk south a few blocks along the ocean from the Ocean Beach Pier or descend the steps at the terminus of Santa Cruz Avenue. (You can use 5098 Santa Cruz Avenue, San Diego, CA 92107 as your search address if using GPS or a mapping app.)
Have a great day and I hope you enjoy your visit to a great beach in San Diego!
View toward the coast from furthest rock.
Another coast view.
From the top of the stairs, the north beach area.
South beach area from top of stairs.
View from stairs.
View up the stairs, with Ocean Beach fitting graffiti.
San Diego County has a large beer industry, there are currently more than 110 active breweries. Along with high numbers, San Diego has earned a reputation as a leader in the craft beer industry. Many would rank it as the top craft beer city/region in the United States – whether it is the top dog or in the top five isn’t especially important. It’s a leader however you measure – top ranked beers, top ranked breweries, number of breweries, or gallons produced annually.
As craft beer has exploded it has increasingly come at the expense of the “big brewers” – InBev and MillerCoors. In 2014 craft breweries saw production growth of 18% while beer overall saw an increase of only .5%. Read between the lines and that means that the “Big 2” are losing market share while smaller craft brewers are experiencing a decade of double digit annual growth. Many places in the U.S. have embraced craft beer as a marketing tool and part of civic identity – San Diego, Fort Collins, Grand Rapids, and Portland would certainly fall into this category along with many others.
In response to loss of market share, the big brewers have adopted a strategy of purchasing craft beer brands to get a share of the sales and production growth. With enormous assets and resources why don’t the big brewers simply establish new craft beer breweries in markets with potential? Most likely because craft beer brands are typically tied to local markets and seen as the “little guy” or underdog that embraces the community and builds a loyal band of followers. It’s hard for InBev sell beer as an underdog.
So InBev and MillerCoors come to town and write a check with a bunch of zeroes, hope someone takes the offer, and then do their best to make sure that as few people as possible know that a big brewery now owns the “little guy”. Craft breweries purchased by “Big Beer” have included Goose Island of Chicago (2011 for $39 million), 10 Barrel of Bend, Oregon (2014 for undisclosed amount), Elysian in Seattle (2015 for undisclosed amount), and many others. Redhook, Widmer, and Kona breweries are owned by Craft Brew Alliance – a publicly traded company with substantial share (more than 30%) owned by InBev.
So does it matter if a brewery is owned by a person in your neighborhood or a large corporation like InBev? For many it does. In San Diego the economic impact of the craft beer industry was estimated at $600 million in 2014 and growing at a substantial rate. This number might be sustained if a brewer (or a few brewers) were sold but the profits earned would be sent to the corporate shareholders, not to the pockets of local owners. There would almost certainly be a reduction in headcount for administrative positions like marketing and sales and possibly in the brewhouse as well, if production is moved to larger, more efficient facilities.
Do consumers care? If the beer is good, the beer is good. In Chicago it does not seem that Goose Island selling to InBev has had a negative impact. Their annual release of the acclaimed Bourbon County Stout is a huge event. Does it matter if the beer is brewed in Chicago, and Fort Collins, and Portsmouth? Perhaps not.
And there are enormous advantages to the brand. With the increased assets of a large corporation, craft breweries that are sold can afford to buy end caps in Whole Foods (where I’ve found Goose Island prominently displayed here in San Diego). This success can be multiplied through scale even if the brewer that created iconic beers like Bourbon County has since left to be a cidermaker in Michigan. (The head brewer for Elysian left soon after the sale of that company as well.)
San Diego has earned a reputation for being a leader in the craft beer world. From Stone’s early role in super hop-heavy beers, which has become the signature calling card for San Diego and inspired it’s own style: San Diego IPA or San Diego Pale Ale. Ballast Point has brought hot pepper beers to the mainstream and constantly is experimenting with herbs, citrus, and other flavors. White Labs is located here in town and allows brewers to access top-quality yeast strains, and new experimental strains as well.
The current rumor is that Saint Archer is being sold to MillerCoors. This would be the first San Diego craft brewery to be sold to “Big Beer”. (There have been other sales like the recent acquisition of Alpine by Green Flash.) Losing one brewery out of 110 isn’t a large percentage. The bigger risk is that utilizing bigger assets the San Diego brand will be eroded. If Saint Archer, or any brewery, is sold what will happen when that brewery buys premium space in grocery stores? If the label says “San Diego beer” and is next to Stone, Green Flash, and Modern Times will a person in Texas or Wisconsin know which is owned by San Diegans and which is owned by a faceless corporation? Maybe they won’t care. Worse yet, if the quality of the beer is reduced to drive sales and is affiliated with San Diego it could damage the overall reputation for quality currently enjoyed by the industry here. Whether Saint Archer is actually selling or not, a sale is likely to occur in the near future given the trend of purchases by the large brewers and the reputation of San Diego beer.
For me, the ownership of our breweries matters. When friends and family, or strangers, visit us in San Diego I love highlighting unique experiences that are rooted here. Local hiking trails, coffee shops, breweries, restaurants, etc. When I travel it’s the same – there is enjoyment derived simply from the fact that what you are partaking of is part of the place where you are. The fast food nation America became in the 20th century of universal sameness erased much of the uniqueness of our country and our experiences. The recent rise of craft beer, craft coffee, and other artisan offerings is a welcome breath of fresh air and a reminder that quality and locality matters. Is it pretentious? Sometimes, maybe most of the time. Does that make it bad? Absolutely not.
My hope is that if a brewery is sold to “Big Beer” there will be a penalty to be paid. Local consumers will choose to support breweries based, owned, and operated here. Hopefully the San Diego Craft Brewer’s Guild will not allow a member that is not included in the definition of craft beer.
InBev and MillerCoors are welcome to create craft beer. They’re welcome to buy craft breweries. But doing so in an intentionally misleading way is wrong. If drinkers want to buy a McPorter or a McIPA they can choose to do so. I’ll be sticking with a Stone Enjoy By or Modern Times Black House. I hope you’ll join me for a round to celebrate the great place we live in. Cheers.
KPBS recently ran a story mostly lamenting the lack of parking for vehicles at Balboa Park in San Diego. I strongly disagree with this premise, particularly because of the lack of parking studies to support this viewpoint. I posted a bit on my Facebook page (re-posted below) and was surprised and grateful to see it included the next day in both the San Diego Free Press Starting Line and the Voice of San Diego Morning Report.
If you live in San Diego or like to follow news from San Diego these are my two favorite daily sources for information and viewpoints from the area. You can subscribe to both of these sources via email if you’d like to get them in your inbox.
Here are my brief thoughts on proposals to pave more of Balboa Park for parking lots, garages, and roadways. It is very sad to me that in some of our most precious locations – the beachfront, the bayfront, Balboa Park, and so many others – we actively go out of our way to spend millions to erase the natural beauty that exists here. Hopefully we can start to change our ways and live in a more sustainable, and enjoyable manner in the future.
This is so terrible it’s not even funny. In San Diego, our biggest and most well-known, and well-visited, park is Balboa Park. If you’ve been to San Diego you may have been there.
Instead of preserving our park space we are actively trying to pave more and more and more of it to accommodate vehicle parking. If parking were difficult, this might be a cause worth considering.
But facts like usage of existing parking spots won’t be found in articles like this or conversations with our “Balboa Park leaders”. Maybe a quick anecdote to note that yes, there are almost always open parking spots, but then back to visions of parking garages and multi-million dollar roadways that taxpayers will pay for.
Fresh on the heels of a huge parking garage built by the San Diego Zoo (which all San Diego property owners pay for) we have visions of parking on the East Mesa (which is already a parking lot used by city trucks), and a parking garage behind the Organ Pavilion.
More parking, more cars, more pavement. Less open space, worse air, and more congestion. Everybody clap.
Ocean Beach to Julian is a long way to bicycle. About 65 miles one-way, and entirely uphill with nearly a mile of elevation gain. It’s a test worth taking, and one you’ll savor when done.
This is the 4th year I’m organizing the Ride for the River Park and I hope you’ll join me. The event will take place September 26 and 27, 2015. It’s been a great time riding with friends old and new and pushing through one tough day of riding to enjoy the mountain town of Julian, some good stories, and some good San Diego beer. The upside to a really tough first day is cruising back down the entire way on the return trip.
The first year I organized this ride it was my longest ride ever – by a long shot. I had never ridden more than 30 miles in my life, maybe not even 20. If you’re concerned about your ability and the difficulty of the ride you’re not alone – most of us that have participated were in the same boat. If you’re looking for a good challenge, and a good group to cheer you on I hope you’ll consider coming out.
Riding from coastal San Diego, through Mission Trails Regional Park, through vineyards near Ramona and Julian, and eventually through pine shaded roads is a wonderful experience. The amount of diversity of natural beauty in San Diego is astounding and seeing it first-hand (no, out a car window is not the same) is something I look forward to every year.
I’m proud to support the San Diego River Park Foundation with this event and regular donations. The organization does great conservation and native space restoration work to preserve and enhance the native landscape. Additionally, there are year-round clean-ups, educational workshops, and many other programs. If you can’t join the ride I hope you’ll consider supporting the foundation financially or volunteering for a clean-up this year.
Effective today, June 4, the City of Carlsbad has new regulations on vacation rentals / short-term rentals in the city. They have a helpful FAQ sheet explaining where such activity is and isn’t allowed. Essentially, the city has banned renting any portion of a home, or an entire home, for fewer than 30 days, unless it’s in the “coastal zone” – roughly west of Interstate 5. This means if you have a second property, or a spare bedroom, you can not rent it for less than 30 days whether once a year, once a month, or every day of the year. Per my conversation with the City of Carlsbad, it also prohibits home-swapping or a home exchange.
What is home-swapping? It is trading time in one property for time in another. A popular platform for enabling this type of trading is HomeExchange. For many, it is an opportunity to travel and greatly reduce total travel costs by securing free lodging. I haven’t used home-swapping before but it seems like a great idea. A couple approaching retirement on my block recently used HomeExchange so I spoke with them to get more details. (Names withheld to protect privacy.)
A sample HomeExchange property in Indonesia
To use HomeExchange costs my neighbors $100 annually, which gives one access to the site and contact information for others on the site. The details for a swap occur between the individual parties, not via the site. My neighbor noted that some people include money as part of agreements to swap but they have not in their two uses in the past year. Their first experience was to Brooklyn, New York, and their most recent trip to Florence, Italy.
My neighbor noted that when he originally read about HomeExchange his wife was adamantly opposed but after looking at overall finances and their joint desire to travel they thought it worth a try – this option would close the financial gap and allow for travel now, and during their retirement years soon approaching.
So far the experience has been a very good one for them and they plan to continue using this option in future. However, the San Diego City Council may have other plans. The city is currently researching new regulations on short-term rentals which may include a ban on uses like home-swapping as our neighbors to the north in Carlsbad have enacted. This platform that allows homeowners to utilize their otherwise empty homes and enable world-wide travel for owners would be gone.
For more recent home purchasers in San Diego the financial incentives to supplement vacation funds is compelling. The median single-family home price in San Diego currently stands at over half a million dollars – $520,000. As opposed to long-time home owners with lower property taxes (and lower mortgage balances), new buyers are shelling out near-record prices for their homes. The upside is that living in San Diego means that there is a lot of demand for property here and home owners have an opportunity to utilize that by home-swapping to visit family or explore a new country. Of course, banning home-swapping would be a double whammy – high purchase prices and limited ability to utilize homes.
The debate about short-term rentals and Airbnb continues in San Diego and new regulations of some sort are on the way. Hopefully, these regulations won’t throw new opportunities in the trash can in the effort to address resident concerns. We are at the start of many new opportunities like Airbnb and home-swapping which are beginning to become mainstream and many others that are yet to come. Problems need to be addressed, but the opportunities presented also need to be preserved when possible.
[The Carlsbad prohibition of home-swapping also raises questions about the general ability of homeowners to have guests of any sort. If no payment is being made but home-swapping is not allowed, are non-paying friends or family also prohibited? It almost seems as if any overnight guest is technically barred from staying, though I don’t believe this was the intent of the new law.]
Do you own a home in San Diego? The homeownership rate for the county is around 55% so there’s a good chance you do. The proliferation of companies in recent years tailored to improve housing efficiency and financial opportunities for home owners has led to many ways in which property can be utilized that did not previously exist. It is changing the entire idea of what homeownership means for many. Instead of a 30-year liability that eats up 30 – 60% of take home pay, owners are increasingly able to reduce this liability and/or have more options and flexibility in their lives.
For some, these opportunities are to rent a spare bedroom in the home they occupy to earn money. For others, it is the opportunity to rent their home while they are on vacation – in some cases paying for the entire trip while using what would be an empty house. Instead of renting out their home while away, some use home-swapping to explore a new part of the world. An older couple on my block uses home-swapping about once a year – last year for a month visit to family on the East Coast and this year for a month-long visit to Italy. These are all great options for people that elect to utilize them, and that largely benefit individual homeowners.
All of these examples do not reduce housing stock for local residents. They also are part of systems in which homeowners have a very significant stake in making sure guests are polite, quiet, and considerate. No one wants their home trashed or to hurt the neighborhoods they live in. I recognize that there are outliers in which homes have been destroyed by short-term tenants. It’s worth noting that Airbnb alone books more than 100,000 rooms per night – the horror stories that make the news comprise a very small percentage, likely less then .01% of bookings. In the rare instances in which such issues do occur, I have yet to see an example in which Airbnb does not fully remedy the situation for the homeowner.
Platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, HomeExchange, and others are becoming more mainstream but we are still in the very early days of these tools. The Wall Street Journal this week highlighted how large extended families are utilizing short-term rentals to connect with far-flung relatives. The article noted that “nearly 1 in 4 travelers has switched in the past two years to vacation-rental homes from hotels or condos”. This growth is significant and increasing. It represents an incredible opportunity for local economies, in particular home owners and local businesses. Visitors now have the opportunity to stay in real, dynamic, attractive neighborhoods.
My most recent guest enjoyed playing with my kids and even gave them books she had illustrated.
Here in San Diego locals can host visitors from all over the world to experience North Park, Little Italy, Ocean Beach, and other fantastic neighborhoods. It gives a far superior experience for many than staying in Hotel Circle or Downtown. The ripple effects from this for the reputation and long-term prospects for San Diego are enormous. We used to be known for beaches, Tijuana, SeaWorld, and the Zoo. Look at us now – world-wide recognition for the beer industry, industry leading research in science and telecommunications, and thriving neighborhoods with great restaurants and cafes opening daily. The latter is what our guests can now experience in a realistic way and the reason so many people want to move here. It shouts: “We’re a real city!” Beaches and a laid-back attitude will (hopefully) always be part of the San Diego identity. But we’re not a tourist attraction cultural backwater. We’re a fully fledged modern American city with the full range of amenities that entails and full of passionate, intelligent, fit residents working to better our region and world – and have a great time doing it.
We can build on this momentum and put San Diego on the top of everyone’s list for places to live or visit. It will be difficult if our approach is to bar visitors from having an authentic experience of our best neighborhoods. That’s a good enough reason for me to think a ban on short-term rentals is a terrible idea.
On top of handicapping our ability to attract great people and showcase all the good things happening here we would also be directly harming every property owner in San Diego. Economic winds change, personal illnesses occur, and people get older with big, empty houses. The ability to benefit San Diegans all across the city by utilizing unused space in their own homes is an absolute win for everyone. It can mean the difference between a foreclosure and staying in your home. It can mean social connections for empty nesters on a fixed income. It can mean new friendships established and a chance for proud residents to personally show guests what a great city we have.
The types of opportunities are as large as they are varied but are not assured to remain. Carlsbad just passed a law to ban any sort of short-term rentals in much of the city. That is a severe reduction in property rights of homeowners. If you have four bedrooms and three are empty you are explicitly barred from hosting a guest for fewer than 30 days. Yes, you can get a long-term roommate who will then enjoy tenant rights. I’d guess that many that might be willing to host a couple for a weekend likely aren’t looking for a long-term housemate. This rule also prevents homeowners for utilizing their home while on vacation, explicitly preferring to see properties sit empty rather than be used. An empty house is an inefficient use of space, a reduction of dollars in the local economy, and can be a safety issue as empty homes are sometimes targeted for theft. Santa Monica recently passed rules that also eliminate the ability of homeowners to rent their home while away. Good-bye home-swapping or a paid-for vacation for property owners in that town.
Will San Diego follow the lead of Santa Monica and Carlsbad and take away from our economy and the pockets of individual home owners? I hope not, and hope that if these sort of rules are passed here the elected officials responsible will be held accountable. We are talking about reducing the utility and freedom that residents enjoy in their own abode. The largest asset and most private place that we enjoy would be negatively impacted. This is not a trivial matter, and certainly not one in which drastic action should be taken across the entire city hastily.
If you support short-term rentals in San Diego please share your voice here. This support will be presented to the City Council.
The City of San Diego is currently considering new regulations on short-term vacation rentals like Airbnb. These regulations could potentially ban this type of property use for the entire city. Currently the city is pursuing a case against a retired school teacher for renting out rooms in her home via Airbnb with potential fines of up to $250,000. There are also groups organized to push for restrictions and a ban on short-term rentals. Nearby cities like Carlsbad and Santa Monica have recently passed very restrictive rules regarding short-term rentals and there is a real possibility San Diego could be next.
If you have enjoyed visiting San Diego using Airbnb, VRBO, or other short-term accommodation please take a moment to share your story. I am part of a group of San Diegans that are working to preserve this opportunity for visitors and residents alike, to benefit our city socially, culturally, and economically. If you have friends or family that have visited San Diego using a short-term rental please pass along this request to them.
We will present all of the support for short-term rentals to the City Council in our efforts to ensure this property use remains a possibility for homeowners in San Diego. Thank you!
If you value the existence of short-term rentals in San Diego and platforms like HomeAway, VRBO, and Airbnb please share your thoughts to ensure they remain available here. The San Diego City Council is currently considering new rules and regulations for this type of property use which includes a potential ban, among other possibilities. The Short-Term Rental Alliance of San Diego (STRASD) is a grass-roots group of San Diegans that has organized to give a voice to responsible hosts here and the benefits that short-term rentals provide to the city.
The City Council Smart Growth and Land Use Committee held a hearing on April 22nd attended by hundreds of San Diegans on this issue and will have another hearing on May 29th. For many, it is not possible or difficult to attend in person and voice an opinion. STRASD has created an online submission option you can use to add your thoughts and why you support short-term rentals here. Whether you are a property owner, a visitor to San Diego, a local business, or anyone else that supports platforms like Airbnb your voice is important and needs to be heard! STRASD will compile the submissions and present them to the City Council. Please take two minutes (or more) and add your perspective. It really makes a difference.
You can make your submission via the “Share Your Voice” link at the top right of the STRASD website, or via this direct link. Thank you for speaking up.
The following is my submission, as an example. Yours can be shorter or longer – the important thing is that you make a submission. If you’re not familiar with this issue or would like to discuss I’d be happy to talk with you, just drop me an email or phone call.
I am an Airbnb host in North Park and love the platform and the opportunities our family has due to it. We bought our home two years ago, and the presence of a second legal and permitted unit on the property was the primary consideration outside of neighborhood for us. We exclusively use Airbnb when we travel and wanted the opportunity to be a host in San Diego. We are a one-income family and planned on the income from the second property to allow us to spend quality time with our young children. A ban on renting our property on a short-term basis would be a major issue for us and may cause us to sell our home and potentially leave the region as well.
It’s not all about the money though. For us and for many hosts there are many factors at play in being hosts on Airbnb. We are able to accommodate friends and family in town (no return on investment) due to the flexibility provided. We are able to help move San Diego away from solely being a car-focused place by encouraging bike use (provided), bus, etc. Many guests do not bring a car, they walk around the neighborhood and improve the conditions around parking and traffic for all. We can show off our great neighborhood of North Park and the many businesses located here. I give all of our guests great San Diego beer to help promote one of our most recognized industries. We’re also able to host parents of friends that otherwise would be miles away instead of a short walk.
During the time we’ve owned this property we’ve made many improvements to the cottage we rent out, hiring local electricians, plumbers, construction workers, and other service providers. We also pay a neighbor to clean the cottage at an hourly rate that is more than double the existing minimum wage. The positive economic impact for San Diego provided by platforms like Airbnb and VRBO is significant and on top of indirect effects like restaurant purchases and zoo tickets the dollars paid for the lodging itself benefit our local community by staying with owners that live and spend here, not hotels that take the money out of our city.
Please keep ordinary San Diegans like us that are good hosts and care about and are involved in our community in mind when contemplating any regulations or rules on short-term rentals. This is a great opportunity for many people in the city that should not be eliminated due to a very few problem locations. Thank you.
among other possibilities. The