New short term rental transparency law aims to cut down surprise fees for travelers

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—When she’s not selling homes, Yazmin Manno enjoys traveling with family. 
 
But she says planning a weekend getaway on a budget can be frustrating when hidden fees aren’t accounted for until the end. 
 
“You see like the nightly rates and all the nightly rates might be the same, but in the end, one place might charge more fees than the other. So something that looks good initially may be more expensive in the end. So I think just having all the information upfront helps people make a better decision and helps me make a better decision,” said the Coldwell Banker realtor.

Assembly Bill 537 requires hotels, motels, and short-term rentals such as those on Airbnb and VRBO to disclose the total price of a rental in their advertised rate. 
 
This includes cleaning fees and other charges.
 
Taxes and government charges do not have to be included in the rate. 
 
Realtor and Airbnb Superhost Yawar Charlie says the new law works well for mom and pop Airbnb hosts like himself. 
  
 “When someone goes to book on Airbnb, for example, they may see that we charge $300 a night, but the fees and taxes for them, including the cleaning fee, etc., can add up to well over five or $600.”  So it really is taken out almost on the homeowner because what ends up happening is we get reviews and we have stellar five star reviews across the board in every category except for one, and that's value because sometimes the person renting the Airbnb thinks like, Oh, well, we're the ones hiding the charges and we surprise them. And suddenly this is more expensive than they thought, when in actuality it's not us, it's the site,” said Yawar Charlie, a seasoned realtor with Christie’s International Real Estate. 

 Charlie says the short term rental law is part of a greater movement to protect consumers, and it’s also good for local tourism.
 
“Santa Barbara is an economy that relies on tourism. So if people are being surprised with fees, that might affect how often people can take vacations, how often they're coming to Santa Barbara, how much they can spend out at the restaurants. So it's all sort of tied in and incorporated,” said Charlie.
 
Failure to follow this new law will result in a $10,000 penalty.