‘Living hell’: Pacifica residents upset with noisy Airbnbs

PACIFICA, Calif. ( KRON ) – The City of Pacifica is considering more restrictions on Airbnb rentals after the rentals have caused a divide in the Pacifica community.

Neighbors say Airbnbs are causing them constant problems, but hosts say they are a great source of income.

“We have big plans. It’s an old house and it’s very expensive, but we want to make improvements to it so we use Airbnb to generate that money,” said host Russell Jones.

But some neighbors who live next to an Airbnb tell a different story.

“Our life has become a living hell. We have lost the quiet enjoyment of our home,” said Pacifica resident Caitlin Quinn.

Quinn has owned an oceanfront property for seven years. She says ever since a vacation management company bought the house next door, her home life has suffered.

“We had people dragging luggage under our bedroom window at all times of the day and night,” she said. “I firmly believe that the permit should have been revoked. I’ve clocked being woken up 50 times between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.”

Lyla Reinero says the same company bought the home next to hers in 2019.

“It’s been a constant nightmare ever since then. Constant parties, trash, parking issues,” she said.

Quinn and Reinero are part of a group called Pacifica Homes Are Not Hotels . The two say they are not against Airbnbs, just ones without a local host.

“Anytime someone comes here there is no host,” said Reineiro. “The phone number they give to call frequently, you get a busy phone. It’s next to impossible to get through to an actual person to deal with problems.”

“Their business model is they buy these homes and turn them into vacation rentals. And rent them 365 days a year, which means every holiday, which for us has been ruined,” Quinn said.

There’s another group of hosts that have also created a group called Pacifica for Responsible Tourism . Many say they’ve never had any issues.

“Never had a single complaint. Never had parties. Mostly families looking to escape the heat,” said host Alex Vardakostos.

Both sides packed into the Pacifica city council meeting Monday night. The council debated whether to implement caps on Airbnb stays and limit the number of Airbnbs per neighborhood.

Short-term rentals are already capped at 150 properties with permits. Airbnb wrote a letter to the council, saying 80% of hosts in Pacifica are listing just one home on the website.

Complaints can lead to hosts being non-compliant and losing a permit. The hosts are hoping the city will just enforce its current regulations instead of issuing more limitations.

“We could get rid of the bad actors. Instead, they are talking about hurting us who have done nothing wrong,” Jones said.

The saga is far from over – the city did not vote on anything Monday. One consideration was creating a lottery system for new short-term rental permits rather than it being first come first serve.

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