Airbnb in San Diego - Looking for some advice!

[Doug Spence]

Hi Everyone! I'm currently renting out my home in Pensacola on Airbnb, and its going very well so far. I'm moving to San Diego this Fall and I plan on purchasing a home there to list on Airbnb. 

I'll be traveling for work (Navy) very often - 1-2 weeks per month plus a 6 month deployment at some point - and I'm looking for some insight from people that are successfully doing Airbnb in San Diego. I know I want to be in a neighborhood close to Balboa park, like North/South Park, Univ Heights, Hillcrest, etc, and from the research I've done so far I think a 2br/2ba home would be a good configuration for Airbnb. I plan on hiring a company to manage the rental while I'm traveling. 

I still have my VA loan since I did a conventional loan for my Pensacola house, so I'm planning to use that since the home will likely be in the 400k-600k range.

Are there any SD airbnb-ers out there with some advice? I'm also happy to share info about my current listing in Pensacola, and I'm open to any feedback on my listing as well 

Thanks!

[Aly Vizcarra]

Good morning @Doug Spence, 

Thank you for your service.

I heard a radio commercial driving into work this AM. 

The message was from a mother who lives near 3 different AirBnB's.   She was distraught about the "parties, the noise, the strangers and the safety of her children..."   She was urging the city council to crack down on AirBnB. 

There is an ongoing campaign to restrict short term rentals. So far the city has demanded owners pay a hotel tax if they rent their house or even rent a room. 

So as of now, you can AirBnb in SD, but to remain in compliance with the city, a hotel tax needs to be collected. 

Best of luck!