HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-06-2015 PH1 Ayral 1Subject: FW: Home Stays COUNCIL MEETING: 1- Ia -15
ITEM NO.: _ EJH
From: Odile Ayral
Sent: 1/5/2015 8:46 PM JAN 0 6 2015
To: Marx, Jan; Ashbaugh, John; Carpenter, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Rivoire, Dan
Cc: Meiia, Anthony
Subject: Home Stays
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
I have traveled extensively in the western world, and I have used just about every type of lodging that exists,
except for couch surfing: hotels, B &Bs, vacation rentals, home stays and rentals run by municipalities, private
vacation apartments and rooms, airbnbs that served breakfast and others that did not, and even Servas (the only
true cultural exchange system because it does not involve money.) I am not against any of these systems when
they are run intelligently and take into account the specific circumstances of an area. My biggest concern is that
SLO is already overwhelmed by students, some of whom live in houses bought by parents who made them co-
owners. It would be very easy and very lucrative for them to turn these houses into airbnbs.
In Copenhagen, my husband and I were welcomed by a student who rented an apartment close to the city
center, and who sublet it almost every weekend to tourists like us while he stayed at his parents' house. The
apartment was sublet through airbnb during the entire summer. He told us this allowed him to have a nice
apartment and to pay for his studies. He welcomed us when we arrived, but we never saw him again. We were
on our own the rest of the time, and we just pulled the door behind us when we left.
Let us replace Copenhagen with SLO. A similar student lives in a house he co -owns with his parents. He
decides to turn it into an airbnb instead of looking for roommates, or possibly keep one roommate and use the
rest as airbnb. He not only makes more money this way, he can also make a lot of money during the
summer. Those who live in areas overtaken by students know how wonderful summers can be when they are
gone. Well... peace will never happen again if too many students realize they can support their studies by
turning their homes into airbnbs. I urge you to include clauses in the draft that would make this impossible ::
i. All owners must live in the house that is used as "home stay ".
2) z. One owner must be present when the "guests" arrive and when they leave. He must welcome them, and
he must see them off.
3) 3. One owner must be in the house from 10 pm to 7 am every day when guests are there, and be available
any time during the day.
Personally, I think you would prevent a lot of abuse if you required the host to provide breakfast. Many
airbnbs already do this (as the name demonstrates) and, in fact, breakfast quality makes these airbnbs more
popular. If "cultural exchange" is truly the interest of the hosts who are pushing for home stays rather than
mere greed, they ought to be delighted to provide breakfast and interact with their guests.
Odile Ayral