Three Things Your California Based Airbnb Needs

No matter where you open your Airbnb or short-term rental, you need to know the legalities of the state and county you plan on opening your Airbnb. California, in particular, is a state where the short-term rental industry is more heavily regulated. The specific regulations will depend on which city you are in. However, California generally has some of the more strict short-term rental laws throughout it’s different cities. This can make navigating the short-term rental business all the more difficult, and is why it is important to research and be as prepared as possible. So, let’s take a look at the three things your California based Airbnb needs.

Consider an LLC For Your Airbnb

When beginning a short-term rental business, it is important to consider what business structure you will take on. While you might have to pay to initially set up your LLC, there are a variety of different LLC options available to you that can help you save money in the future. But more specifically, an LLC provides you with limited liability protection. Limited liability protection protects your personal assets from being seized in the event of financial or legal problems with your STR. Your personal assets are also protected from potential legal claims, and you may have tax flexibility that you would not have otherwise. Making your STR business an LLC would also be wise if you plan of expanding your business to multiple properties. An LLC for your STR business could only help make operations more convenient for you and help legitimize your business in the longterm.

Know Your Cities Regulations

This one should go without saying, but it is incredibly important to know your states short-term rental laws. Short Term Rental Laws in California vary between cities. For example, in Los Angeles if you do not live in your Airbnb full-time you can only host guests for a maximum of 120 nights per year. However, if your Airbnb is based in San Francisco and you do not live on the property full-time, you can only rent it out 90 days per year. If you ignore this rule, it is possible you could face repercussions such as receiving hefty fines. It is especially important to know your city’s short-term rental regulations due to the increasing regulation of the market. California in particular is one of the more heavily regulated states for Airbnb’s and short-term rentals. Beginning a short-term rental business without first researching your city’s regulations will only deter your business efforts.

Install a room monitor

Room monitors are a great tool to use for short term rentals in any state, but especially in California. This is because California has neighborhood noise ordinances for STR’s specifically. While the features of room monitors will vary depending on the brand, they can all generally detect excessive noise and will alert you to it. Room monitors can help Airbnb hosts to get ahead of potential noise complaints and potentially party risk situations. However, noise monitors can only do so much. If you are looking for a full coverage room monitoring device, the best monitor to use is Alertify.

Alertify monitors excessive noise, indoor smoking, elevated occupancy levels and more all while being privacy-safe. Once you install Alertify, you will receive real-time notifications if the device detects any of these activities. These notifications allow hosts to intervene before potential noise complaints or damages from indoor smoking occur. With Alertify, you can view live and historical data of the noise and indoor smoking levels through the Alertify dashboard. When a noise or smoking violation comes to an end, you will receive an after-incident report. Alertify’s after-incident reports provide hosts with a snapshot of the violation. The after-incident reports can be used as documentary evidence in the event of deposit disputes or fraudulent chargebacks. Now, you will have the evidence you need when proving damages.

All things considered

There are many different components that go into opening and operating an Airbnb anywhere in the world. Even though these three tips are specifically recommended to short-term rentals in California, they can apply to short-term rentals in any state. You can even be apply these globally. As the short-term rental industry has quickly gone global, many cities are introducing strict regulations. Some cities such as Amsterdam are even limiting the amount of STR’s allowed to operate at one time. These regulations are being introduced partly due to party risk guests which damage properties and negatively impact communities. This is why room monitors like Alertify are necessities for short-term rentals. By preventing noise complaints, indoor smoking damage and general party risks, you preserve your relationship with your neighbors and community members. Preserving your community relationships will only make operating your business easier, and Alertify is here to help you with that.