St Petersburg FL - Are 30+ Day Stays a Realistic Expectation?

[Jeremy-and-Keiko0]

Hello.  Budding hosts here.  My wife and I are purchasing a place in St Pete where the rules are pretty strict on transient (less than 30 days stays). Essentially, this means for a sustainable business the host needs to make 30+ day stays work if he/she wants to keep everything above board (which of course we do).

Are 30 days stays realistic in this area?  

[Brandon661]

Exactly what my realtor told me failing to mention the trolls who are digging thru it to ruin people for no good reason - its absurd and so painful and expensive 

[Tori2375]

Hi everyone!! 

My husband and just recently started hosting in St. Pete because we had to re locate and we wanted to be able to use our home to visit family when possible. Our house was immediately reported to the city for violating the short term policy in St. Pete. Since records are public, we were able to find out who did it. I reached out to her and she indeed said that she goes on Airbnb and reports any and all short term single family homes. Has anyone else had this issue? We would love to lean towards longer stays, but we needed to build up some reviews and ratings first. It’s just super defeating!

[Brandon661]

Was it laura **surname removed**? Thats who got me- and i spent months - and i have to fire my ukrainian refugee cleaners- lost 10k in furniture, thanks a lot - id suspected was our butthurt prop manager we fires but the name laura **surname removed**was on the click to fix narc website the city has - thanks alot

[Tori2375]

Yup. We had some words via LinkedIn. It’s impressive she thinks she’ll solve the housing crisis one airbnb host at a time 

[Jennifer3245]

Laura **surname removed** also reported my Airbnb. Not sure what her problem is. If it was my direct neighbors experiencing disturbances and what not I'd understand, but she lives a decent distance away from my home.

[Colleen488]

Laura **surname removed** reported my Airbnb, too. She lives nowhere near it. I’m in the midst of a career change and this property is a significant portion of my income right now. I don’t understand why this **surname removed** person wants to cause hardship to strangers whose properties don’t impact her. 

Bigger picture, I wonder how to go about relaxing these regulations. Airbnb properties are typically well-cared for with lots of owner attention - more than most absentee landlords provide to their long term rentals. 

[Tori2375]

Please keep me posted if you find a way to try and get the city to relax their rules. We don’t live in the area anymore, but we still have our home there that we airbnb (we bought it LONG before Laura**surname removed** moved to St. Pete from Michigan. She’s not even from FL. Makes me really angry. She’s a terrible person causing a lot of damage to a lot of very nice people. 

[Tori2375]

**[Private conversation removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

Here’s what she had to say when I confronted her. We went back and forth with some BS and then she stopped responding. Clearly she’s a coward. 

[Tori2375]

In case you can’t read it, here’s what Laura **surname removed** said:

**[Private conversation removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Tori2375]

She told me that she’s reporting every single (single family home) in St. Pete that’s on Airbnb. She’s trying to solve the housing crisis all by herself but really she’s awful and has a lot of time on her hands. 

[Colleen488]

So it is her own personal crusade. I wondered what her motivation was. All she is doing is hurting people and causing a lot of anxiety. 

I'd like to come up with a proposal for changes to the code that would hopefully be in everyone's best interest. It would help to know what the city's rationale was for such stringent rules. 

I'll look into it and if I find anything, I'll share it.

[Brandon661]

I was told by real estate agents that everyone was doing it and dont worry, we bought 900k house and mortgage was 4200 a month - property manager was a nightmare we fired them and suspect they reported us to the city - who knocked on door and asked an airbnber if they were short term and they said yes - so i get a notice have 30 days to comply 

no 30 day stays arent realistic and in july w did 8k airbnb and vrbo revenue but am forced to go long term which is now 5k per month rent instead 

we listed for 30 days for a few weeks and got zero hits

[Tori2375]

We currently live in Burlington, VT and they have very strict airbnb rules, but I understand because it’s a tiny city. St. Petersburg is huge and a huge vacation destination! People like to rent their own homes when they’re on their beach vacations (we have to rent houses when traveling because we have 5 dogs) St. Pete should really consider loosening up on the short term situation. It’s really such a bummer. We were able to find a long term renter to rent it furnished, but I’m hoping by next year we will be able to go back to hosting. Let me know if there’s any petitions to sign or people to contact that can help! 

[Jeremy-and-Keiko0]

Yeah, folks.  The rules are pretty simple: 3 short term stays (stays that are < 30 days) are allowed per 12 months. 

If you chose to skirt the law be ready to deal with the consequences.  I don't recommend it.  Lots of older folks with plenty of time on their hands to get nasty if they get irritated with a bad airbnb experience.   Petition the city council if you'd like to see the rules relaxed.

Short of that, the area really does command a premium, even for tradition LTR.  It's lucrative.  

[Jenny]

Hi everyone

Just a quick nudge to let you know that I've removed the surname of a named person in this conversation, as identifying details are against Community Center Guidelines.

I can understand your concerns and frustrations over what's happening but it'd be great just to be mindful of not sharing personal information in public.

Thanks so much,

Jenny