FACTS ABOUT VACATION RENTALS (STRs)

Media and disgruntled anti-STR groups hype and spread fear and misinformation. They don't want you to know that tens of thousand of guests visit Long Beach annually and do not create a nuisance. A vacation rental managed correctly is a good neighbor.

A simple search on AirBNB of any neighborhood that has "banned" STRs will prove that they do not work.  Bans push good operators out of business but the bad operators remain.  The bad guys don't follow the rules and they won't start if vacation rentals are banned.  Common Sense regulations and a meaningful enforcement mechanism is key to STR and neighborhood success. 

Long Beach Comprises 179,503 Housing Units (according to the US Census) - 600 of those units are SRTs which is .0033 of the the total.  STRs have a negligible effect on rents.  Let's build more affordable housing.

Better Neighbors LA and the Hotel Workers Unions that back it - send outside canvassers onto our streets and spread fear without disclosing their true motives. They see STRs as competition and don't really care about or neighborhoods.  The fact is, STR owners and managers employee thousands of local people including professionals like plumbers, electricians, and HVAC specialists. Hotels need to provide a better product to protect their business instead of lobbying to outlaw their competition.

Long Beach gets a lot of bad press.  From the rise in homelessness to shootings, to break-ins and catalytic converter thefts, there is no shortage of "terrible" stories.  The pathologically angry anti-STR groups don't want you consider the positives that STRs do in our community.  Tourists spend millions of dollars supporting local businesses, local workers, and building on the city tax revenues.  They also go home after making life-long memories and tell their family and friends how how wonderful Long Beach is - priceless PR for our beautiful city.

We all know that It is absolutely impossible to make everyone happy.  We all know a cranky neighbor who complains about everything.  They take to Nextdoor and spew negativity in an attempt to make everyone else as miserable as they are.  It's not the tourists next door that's the root cause of their anger - it's just who they are.  The truth is, most people don't even realize they have an STR in the neighborhood.  Yes, they see people come and go, but it doesn't impact them one bit.  If an STR is run correctly and if the host is professional, enforces a no noise rule, a no party rule and communicates openly with neighbors an STR can be a positive for our community.