Active Airbnb listings were up almost 30% in West Hollywood in May of this year compared to the same month the year before. Listings were up 75% in nearby areas. That is according to an analysis by WeHo by the Numbers of new data from a third-party website, Inside Airbnb.
West Hollywood had about 450 recently active Airbnb listings as of May 2, 2016, versus about 350 on May 24, 2015. That was an increase of 100 units in a year. The analysis assumed a listing was active if a renter had posted a review in the prior six months.
West Hollywood had fewer active listings than Santa Monica (500) and Hollywood (over 1,000). It had two to three times as many as Beverly Hills, Culver City, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods to the south (Beverly Grove and Fairfax).
West Hollywood’s 30% growth rate was lower than in most nearby communities, including Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Beverly Grove. The growth rate was 75% in the Fairfax district and over 50% in Hollywood. For the Los Angeles area as whole, it was 60%. Santa Monica, on the other hand, experienced a decline in active listings of more than 10%.
Seventy percent of the active listings in West Hollywood were for the whole unit. They could have been houses, condos, or apartments. The analysis did not indicate whether these units were primary residences, second homes or short-term-rental properties. The percentage was virtually the same a year ago.
Forty percent of the active West Hollywood listings came from hosts with multiple listings, slightly more than last year. One West Hollywood host had 16 active listings, spread across the Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Hollywood. Another host had nine active listings in West Hollywood alone.
Daily rental rates varied widely in West Hollywood. For active whole-unit listings, they ran from $50 to $795. The median (middle) rate was $140. Half of the rates were below $140 and half were above. For a room, the rate ranged between $38 and $199, with a $79 median. The analysis did not estimate the number of rental days.
For the full analysis and comparisons to nearby communities, please see the WeHo by the Numbers article How has Airbnb in West Hollywood changed in a year?
Robert, that is a very interesting point. I do wonder how often that is happening. Some corrupt apartment owners would probably rather get a cut of AirBnB income, rather than evict a tenant for sub-letting. They’d make more money overall.
The on site manager in my building is given a spiff by some to act as concierge to let people in.
This in today’s news http://laist.com/2016/07/13/rentalpreneur_busted.php
Short term vacation rentals is the correct term to discuss this issue in entirety. Airbnb, HomeAway, MisterBnB and various platforms, but it seems like many people single out Airbnb without a mention of any of its competition. Sort of like blaming Uber and giving Lyft a free ride. Most of those companies have rating systems and house rules and ask hosts to rate guests. It seems to me that some of what is being described as ‘problems’ is really abuse. Hosts might not be present. Rental landlords have abused their certificates of occupancy. Or tenants or property owners have hired… Read more »
One thing no one here has mentioned are the corrupt apartment owners turning a blind eye to the illegal short term rentals on AirBnB. Why? Because they’re getting a cut of what the tenants take in. I’m pretty sure that’s what happening in my building…
There would be no need for a shared economy if wages had kept pace with inflation and productivity over the past forty years and entities such as AirBnB and Uber and such are doing nothing but locking in that wage theft, becoming part of the problem and not part of the solution. The City is also complicit in this, when they had a chance to raise wages they balked and only raised it a little. I reported to the Council last year that I had discovered listings for AirBnB and for Oakwood Corporate Housing at some of the newest buildings… Read more »
I personally think that a complete ban was too far-reaching. I own my home, and I think I should be able to determine who stays in it. I rent a single room out, once again, in my private home, where I also live. I’m not in West Hollywood, so I’m not violating the ban. I’m making a very small dent to available housing stock, and am not even sure I would have a full-time roommate. I think private homeowners should be able to do what they want, especially if they are occupying their own unit, and are there to monitor… Read more »
TU AND JAMES (above): AMEN to what you wrote!
For the two years we’ve lived in a bungalow “colony” of 6 full-time citizen-residential units with neighbors who really do live here we have complained ad nauseam (dozens of times) to City Council Members and Staff — with precise documentation — about non-stop illegal short-term vacation rentals on our block. These are not the “sharing economy,” but big bucks scams, some hauling in more than 500 bucks (and in one case upto $1500) per night. In some cases, longtime tenants have been “Ellised Out” of their former units then brazenly advertised (in a game of cat and mouse, appearing, disappearing,… Read more »
The city needs to provide $ and staff enough to vigorously enforce…and have the fines high enough to cover all costs of enforcement: Lord KNOWS they have no problem doing it parking enforcement.
Todd Bianco referred to the nearly non-existent code enforcement which appears enable a multitude of exponential problems in WeHo. In the case of rest stabilized residents that fall victim to landlords expert in deferred maintenance we get results like the El Mirador fiasco, which clearly put residents in the line of fire. Pro active inspections by code enforcement could have and can put things into a manageable perspective. Other than that, it’s like closing the barn door after the horse is gone. Likewise, Air Bnb is on the same path , often implemented by the very same overly ambitious landlords… Read more »
The city can begin with those who complain to them first. Surely they can do that, no? If the others aren’t causing problems and/or the city can’t be on top of it, then so be it. Doing nothing is not an option when many year-round residents are having issues.
Short term rentals are a serious problem and the burden is on the neighbors, whose complaints about noise, litter and parking violations are ignored by offsite hosts. Taxing the hosts won’t change the fact that the “guests” are transient with no vested interest in our neighborhoods, which are not zoned for such commercial activity. Short term rentals are illegal in West Hollywood, yet the law in effect doesn’t seem to provide the tools to adequately enforce it. Perhaps I’m missing something, but why not go after Airbnb as well as the hosts?
The situation in my building has partially been addressed by Code Compliance. Residents provided what information they could, and the units that we were able to actually find links to listings were sent letters by code compliance The ads were taken down (for at least time being) and we have not seen any AirBnb “guests”. However, one unit in particular has been an issue. No listing can be found. Dates and times, plus descriptions were provided to code compliance. I even had conversations with “guests”, from Australia, later with others from France, and most recently Switzerland. Another tenant said that… Read more »