Orange County Hospitality Alliance
Orange County Hospitality Alliance (OCHA) is a local coalition of homeowners, hosts, property managers, and community stakeholders who support flexible home rentals throughout Orange County. OCHA works to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits of short-term rentals, advocate for fair and balanced regulations, and ensure that residents have the ability to responsibly rent their homes while supporting tourism, local businesses, and the regional economy. The alliance also provides a collective voice for local hosts in policy discussions and promotes solutions that protect neighborhoods, property rights, and accommodations. Short-term rental operators in Orange County are not only business-minded, but are also locally-invested residents who are deeply committed to the well-being of their neighborhoods and the greater community.
Planning staff recently presented ordinance concepts that would restrict whole home STRs in most residential areas, while coastal zones would broadly permit "home shares" where the resident is present. Framing policy around “home share” definitions is problematic because it creates artificial distinctions between responsible hosting activity, proves difficult to enforce consistently, and can unintentionally exclude homeowners who rely on occasional whole home rentals for financial stability.
Other proposals under discussion include not allowing homestays at all in residential zones and requiring Conditional Use Permits instead of ministerial approvals for STRs in the proposed zones. This would move policy in a more restrictive direction. These approaches risk increasing costs, uncertainty, and administrative barriers for residents trying to host responsibly while doing little to address underlying enforcement challenges.
The California Coastal Commission has historically been concerned with policies that reduce visitor serving accommodations or limit coastal access by restricting overnight lodging options. Because short term rentals are often treated as part of the coastal visitor accommodation supply, policies that function as de facto bans, impose excessive permitting barriers, or materially reduce existing short term rental inventory can raise Coastal Act consistency concerns.
On March 5th, the Santa Barbara Planning Commission voted 4–2 to advance a proposed short-term rental ordinance that would dramatically restrict vacation rentals across the city and rely primarily on limited “homestays” as the remaining form of visitor lodging in the coastal zone.
During the nearly four-hour hearing, all commissioners raised a number of unanswered questions about the proposal, including but not limited to:
How many short-term rentals actually operate in Santa Barbara
How many homes would realistically qualify under the new restrictions
What impact the ordinance would have on Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue
Whether alternatives such as permit caps or lotteries should be considered
Whether the ordinance complies with the California Coastal Act
Despite these unresolved issues, the ordinance was still advanced after the Santa Barbara’s City Attorney, warned commissioners that delaying the decision could “drastically push back the deadline.”
The proposal now moves forward amid growing concerns that the ordinance could eliminate most existing short-term rentals, reduce affordable visitor lodging options, and conflict with the Coastal Act’s requirement to protect and encourage lower-cost coastal accommodations.
❋ What’s Happening
❋ Current Proposal Could Eliminate Most Coastal Visitor Lodging
The City should focus on actual facts, not just perceptions. Without data driven context, it is easy to overstate the scale of the issue or design regulations that do not match real conditions on the ground. A clear baseline of information helps policymakers understand whether STR activity is widespread or limited, whether existing rules are working, and where enforcement resources should be focused.
The percentage of housing used for STRs
In the City of Santa Barbara less than .67% of housing stock is penetrated by short term rentals. Understanding what share of the city’s total housing inventory is used as short term rentals is critical for proportional policymaking. In many communities, STRs represent a very small percentage of total housing units, particularly when compared to vacancy rates, second homes, or long term rental turnover. Looking at this percentage over time can also show whether STR activity is growing, stable, or declining, which helps determine whether new restrictions are necessary or whether existing regulations are sufficient.
Housing supply growth is constrained by many factors, but the most prominent are growth controls and the regulation of new housing supply. Growth controls come in many forms, including zoning policies, urban growth boundaries, affordable housing policies, development fees, new unit limitations per year, and other land use policies.
How Many Complaints Lead to Violations?
Complaint data should be evaluated alongside enforcement outcomes. Not all complaints reflect confirmed violations, and many may involve issues unrelated to STR operations. Tracking how many complaints result in verified violations, citations, or permit revocations helps distinguish between perception and documented compliance issues. This information can reveal whether problems are concentrated among a small number of operators or are broadly distributed, which in turn supports more targeted and effective enforcement strategies rather than sweeping regulatory changes.
Independent market analysis submitted during the process shows that STRs currently represent the majority of overnight visitor capacity in Santa Barbara’s Coastal Zone.
STRs account for 67% of total room inventory
They provide approximately 68% of total overnight visitor capacity
Hotels provide the remaining 32% of capacity
In practical terms, eliminating most STRs would reduce the Coastal Zone’s estimated overnight capacity from about 15,600 visitors to roughly 5,000—a 68% reduction in available lodging. With Santa Barbara hotels already operating near capacity, there is little evidence the remaining supply could absorb this demand.
❋ Unanswered Myths
Responsible STR operators aren’t asking for a free pass — we’re asking for fair, enforceable rules that protect neighborhoods while allowing STRs to function as they do in practice.
❋ What Good Policy Should Do?
Why STRs Are Good For Orange County
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STRs provide flexible supplemental income that helps local homeowners:
Afford mortgages, property taxes, insurance, and rising maintenance costs
Remain in their homes long-term
Age in place with financial stability
Offset periods of temporary relocation or travel
For many residents, STR income is the difference between keeping their home and being forced to sell.
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Orange County is home to many top-tier healthcare institutions.
STRs also serve vital temporary housing functions for:Traveling nurses, professors, and temporary workers
Families relocating for employment
Executive housing
Insurance displacement or home remodel stays
Individuals traveling for medical care
These flexible needs are not easily met by hotels or long-term leases. These guests contribute to the local economy while supporting key industries in the region.
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Short-term rentals allow families and groups to stay under one roof in multi-bedroom homes rather than splitting up across multiple hotel rooms or properties.
This is often more affordable — and more practical — for:
Extended families
Parents traveling with children
Multi-generational groups
Friends attending weddings, graduations, or community events
Independent data comparing STR and hotel rates in Santa Barbara shows that STRs frequently provide lower-cost options for larger groups.
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Independent data comparing STR and hotel rates in Santa Barbara shows that STRs frequently offer lower-cost options — particularly for multi-bedroom stays.
For working families, extended stays, and longer visits, STRs provide an affordable alternative to traditional lodging.
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California’s coast belongs to everyone. Short-term rentals expand access to overnight accommodations for visitors who might otherwise be priced out of staying here. By increasing the range of lodging options beyond traditional hotels, STRs help ensure broader public access to our coastal community.
Join OCHA!
"As OC residents and local business owners, we believe in a vibrant visitor economy that works for everyone. By embracing short-term rental pilots, our jurisdictions can protect property rights, support local shops, and help families keep their homes."
