Hi, everybody.
We have a home in the Coachella Valley. We keep our prices for Coachella and Stagecoach a bit lower than what the market is so we can screen our guests carefully.
If you are a host in the Valley, you know that short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) are under intense scrutiny, especially in Palm Springs and Cathedral City.
I have had many booking requests this year for Coachella and Stagecoach, significantly more than usual. We do not allow Instant Booking. For Coachella/Stagecoach bookings, before accepting the booking, we send the guest a message advising them that we are very strict about ages (all must be at least 25), and the importance of obeying noise rules and occupancy limits, both of which are mandated by local laws. Every single booking attempt this year has backed out after receiving our message about these things, some of them admitting outright that they were planning on having more guests than allowed and/or most of them were under 25, and these are all rules that they had to agree to when making the booking request! Lots of liars out there.
I think it's important that hosts be responsible and considerate of their neighbors and obey local laws to limit the growing outcry against STVRs. There are a lot of AirBnBs in the area and it's quite clear by the number of cars parked there on Coachella/Stagecoach weekends that they are just packing in the people for party time. Please obey local occupancy laws (ours say two per bedroom) and remind your guests that late night noise when returning from the festivals is illegal. If you have nothing but vacant houses on all sides, have at it. But if you have full-time residents on *any* side of your hose or across the street, think about how they will feel about inconsiderate hoards of drunken, loud behavior into the wee hours of the night.
I realize that not all hosts are like us. We'd rather go without guests for the weekends than pack the house with partiers who will upset the neighbors and trash the house. Keep in mind that the more responsible hosts there are, the less likelihood of STVRs being outlawed. Cathedral City already has a temporary ban on new STVR licenses, and they are considering extending it and imposing additional restrictions on existing AirBnBs. Guest behavior has a big impact on what happens. The money is nice in the short-term but think about the long game.
Finally, there is a meeting this Saturday, October 19th, in Cathedral City regarding what future action to take on STVRs. Here is the link: https://www.discovercathedralcity.com/event/public-forum-on-short-term-vacation-rentals-2/
