Benefits
Benefits
Hosted Rental vs Vacation Rental – what’s the difference?
You’ll find both types of lodging on “home sharing” sites like Airbnb and VRBO.com but they’re slightly different in the eyes of the cities and county of Sonoma; they may have different licensing and follow slightly different rules. You can check local rules and regulations to determine what is allowed in your area. They may be managed by the Owner or a Property Manager, either of whom may be called the “Host”. Full details on permitting and guidelines can usually be found on city/county websites.
Hosted Rentals
Hosted Rentals are rooms or accommodations where the owner lives on site. Sharing a home is something people do for a lot of reasons. They run the spectrum from a bedroom within a house to fully separate units that just share a driveway. To learn more check out Charles’ storyand Gay's story.
Vacation Rentals
Vacation Rentals are whole-house rentals. They may be someone’s vacation home (and their belongings could be stored on site) or they may be provisioned 100% for vacationers. To learn more check out Linda's storyand Kay's story.
Hosted & Vacation Rentals – Benefits to our Community
- Provide lodging at all levels of pricing to visitors.
- These visitors in turn support our local economy with purchases in restaurants, retail stores, wineries & breweries, etc.
- Offer (often) less expensive & experientially different lodging than hotels.
- Provide options for families who need multiple sleeping areas within a single living unit.
- Provide opportunities for families to gather and stay together when “local” family members might not have sufficient space to accommodate them at their own homes (Thanksgiving, Christmas, reunions, special events).
- Pay taxes (TOT) supporting many programs in our cities and County.
- Create jobs, providing a living wage job to house cleaners / maids / landscapers / managers. According to local hosts hourly price for a housecleaner is around $30-$40.
- An overwhelming number of hosts in the Coalition are women, the majority of whom are in their 50's, 60's,70's & 80's, earning needed income to make ends meet.
- Home sharing allows anyone to use their home, or a portion of it, for additional, flexible income. This extra income helps people make ends meet or meet their goals. See our host Stories
for how home sharing has impacted our lives.
Disaster Relief
- Provided immediate lodging for individuals who lost their homes or sought shelter after the 2017/2018 fires and the 2019 floods.
- Housed relief workers (firefighters, PG&E workers, insurance agents, construction workers & other trades) during assessment and reconstruction phases.
- Many Vacation Rentals converted to year-round housing to help disaster victims as they made important life decisions about rebuilding or “next steps”.
- Through home sharing sites like Airbnb's Open Homes, hosts have already offered free temporary housing to over 11,000 people who needed to leave their homes because of disasters, conflict, or illness worldwide.
Visiting Professionals
- Hosted & Vacation Rentals provide an economical housing option in many non-disaster short-term (less than 30 day) housing situations: traveling medical professionals (doctors, nurses, x-ray techs, medical students), students attending continuing education programs, winery interns and others seeking temporary housing. It’s easier to book a vacation rental than find a temporary apartment.
Hosted & Vacation Rentals – Benefits for the Host/Owner
- Rental Income that meshes with the owner’s lifestyle. The property will still be available for the Owner’s own family, children, vacation needs.
- Easy to convert as needs change. Need a space for Mom & Dad in the future? The spare room or granny unit will be available.
- Opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world.
- Not sure you want to rent full time? Test the waters with a short-term tenant.
- No matter what kind of home or room you have to share, large or small, anyone can become a host and enjoy these benefits.
