Pasadena Home Sharing Network Members Reach Out to City, Call for Regulation

[Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since originally published.]  Call it the “Millennial Economy.” What’s yours is theirs. And that’s fine with you. That empty guest bedroom or bungalow in your back yard becomes your new revenue stream. Everyday working people become new entrepreneurs in the “sharing” economy.

As new economic dynamics have developed and taken a firm hold over the last ten years, few businesses exemplify their outside-the-box nature more than Airbnb. Now, as the number of Airbnb homes steadily rises and Pasadena homeowners’ groups fear the worst, one group of local Airbnb hosts has taken the unusual step of going directly to the city and actually asking to be regulated. And taxed.

Earlier this week, Liana Enkelis, a professional photographer and self-described “online entrepreneur,” went before the city planning commission to present a plan for her group — The Pasadena Home Sharing Network — to peacefully co-exist with neighbors, residents and other homeowners.

Members of her Network have reason to be concerned. Although there have not been widespread reports of complaints in Pasadena about parking, noise or other guest-related problems as there have been in other cities, some neighborhood associations view the home sharing concept dimly.

Nina Chomsky, President of the Linda Vista-Annandale Association, went further: “It’s become a mess. All of these parties destroy the peacefulness of our single family community. It wasn’t like this before Airbnb.”

Enkelis’ presentation offered a different perspective.

“We are Pasadena residents — not absentee property owners, professional property managers, or real estate developers. We believe in home sharing responsibly to protect the character and tranquility of our neighborhoods,” her group’s presentation said. “Our members are a cross-section of Pasadena itself — from all districts, neighborhoods, ethnic groups, ages, and family situations. We’re recent graduates, young families, single parents, empty-nesters, retirees, and widows.”

As of late 2015, the group had more than 60 members who represented 73 of the 228 Airbnb listings in Pasadena.

At least one Pasadena Councilmember has taken notice.

“I think the City needs to adapt and be responsive to important services like Airbnb and Uber that are certain to become mainstays of how millennials live,” said Andy Wilson, Councilmember and himself an online entrepreneur (in different industries). “This calls for thoughtful and creative policymaking rather than the application of legacy thinking.”

Governments tend to view a new activity in terms of “which box” it fits into, Wilson observed, so new out-of-the-box ideas require some time and pushing and pulling to properly mesh with the community.

“I think it is laudable that a group of people came to the city to voice their opinion about an issue,” said Pasadena Public Information Officer William Boyer. “It’s not uncommon where you get a group that has an issue that does contact us, [though] a lot of times it’s a group that’s opposed to an issue. This is a group that contacted us who’s in favor of something.”

“I think the point is that they are an interest group advocating for some form of regulation,” he continued. “They seemed to at least present to us that they represent a group of Airbnb’ers … who want to work with us and be involved in any sort of regulatory rules that may come about as a result of the popularity of using the shared economy platform for housing.”

Currently the regulatory picture across the country for shared housing is a scattered one, at best. Cities like Austin, Texas; San Francisco, Philadelphia, Nashville, Tennessee and Savannah, Georgia all have some of the country’s most robust frameworks and laws in place that create legal foundations for short-term rentals, according to a report from R Street Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based political think tank. (http://tinyurl.com/gw2xk7m).

In fact, in rating various American cities based on having clear laws, or openness to regulating short-term Airbnb rentals, Cleveland was the only city to receive an “A” grade. Los Angeles received an “F.”

Enkelis began using Airbnb as a guest in 2014 but soon became a host, wanting additional income following the death of her husband but not wanting the inflexibility of having a long-term renter in her home.

“Airbnb works perfectly in my situation,” she said. “I have income, flexibility and I don’t have to worry about who is in my house when I am away,” as Airbnb vets all of its renters. Since then she has become what Airbnb calls a “Superhost,” based on the number of favorable recommendations she has received.

Ginger Berglund is a musician who rents an apartment attached to her home on Oakland Avenue north of Colorado Boulevard. The apartment is approximately 400 square feet with a a separate bedroom and kitchen, and rents for $50-$60 an evening. Unlike many of the groups members who many only rent occasionally, the apartment is rented about 25 nights per month, she said, “and I could probably rent it every night if I wanted to.”

The people who rent her apartment are what she calls “non-travelers,” who wouldnt’ stay in Pasadena’s many hotels. “These are people who have come to visit family, or they’re here for an evening to take an exam at the Convention Center.”

Pasadena is completely overdeveloped with apartments and condos, she says, citing the four or five new apartment complexes now open or being built on Pasadena Avenue, south of Colorado, as examples.

“I don’t compete with them,” she said.

According to the Home Sharing Network group’s report, Airbnb short-term rentals complement rather than compete with Pasadena hotels, which have a 85-94% occupancy rate and 2,400 rooms, by “providing added capacity for guests on a budget or with specialized needs.”

Airbnb short-term rentals fill the needs of a different guest market than hotels — guests with pets, children, or special food requirements who all need a home-like environment, the report added.

The total number of Airbnb listings in Pasadena account for only .37% of all rentals in Pasadena, according to the group’s report.

As the report explains, “Most Pasadena Airbnb home sharing hosts only rent their rooms or property on a part- time basis. Many like the flexibility of keeping space available for visiting family and friends. Others choose to only rent when they travel or during a big event, such as the Rose Parade. According to data provided by AirBnB, the annual average number of nights that Pasadena hosts rent their rooms or property is 49 nights during the 2014 fiscal year. Out of the more than 60 thousand households in Pasadena, only 228 are Airbnb hosts.”

The report also noted that many of the Airbnb hosts are seniors, who would be unlikely to rent to young “party” types. Airbnb provides a toll-free, dedicated hot line for neighbors of Airbnb hosts, the report stated, and excessive complaints can lead to “de-listing” of a host.

“As a last resort,” the report said, “Pasadena Police respond promptly and efficiently handle noise complaints.”

As for regulating Airbnb rentals in Pasadena, the group would ideally like to see the implementation of a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from all Pasadena Airbnb and short-term rental guests. According to the report, Airbnb currently collects a similar tax from guests and remits it to the city in both Portland and San Jose.

The group suggested to the planning department that the City of Pasadena work with Airbnb to implement the collection and remittance of TOT at the same rate as charged hotel guests, currently 12.11%.

According to Interim City Planner David Reyes, the matter will next be taken up by the Council’s Education and Technology committee, who may recommend a plan for city staff to present to the full council.