Victory for Santa Cruz County Airbnb hosts

Today acted as a victory for those who are renting out their rooms through Airbnb in Santa Cruz County.

A proposed law from the Santa Cruz Housing Advisory and Planning Commissions suggested a cap for the number of days someone can host, but the Board of Supervisors voted no.

That cap was 55 nights in three coastal neighborhoods and 110 nights for people living in the rest of the county.

But a room full of Airbnb hosts pled for fewer regulations, many of them retirees or using the rental platform to help pay for living expenses.

They say it would have made living in Santa Cruz nearly impossible.

“It would cut our income basically in half from airbnb, and we rely on our airbnb income to allow us to live in the home that we bought three years ago,” says host Ray Reinhard.

After a three hour meeting and hearing from dozens of Airbnb hosts, the supervisors decided to remove the limit on the number of stays.

But there will be a cap in the number of permits issued to hosts, that’s 250.

Instead of banning Airbnb and other rental services, Santa Cruz County Supervisors say they are looking for a streamlined process to make hosting simple, while making sure it best serves the community.