For the Sandahl family, Airbnb provided them the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and learn about the world.
“They tried to share with me about their life, their history. So, it was amazing for me,” said Meluska Sandhal. She and her husband, David, became Airbnb hosts January 2015. Over the time span of the six months that they were hosts, they took in 25 guests for a price of $40 per night. They quickly became known for their hospitality and were ranked “Super Hosts” by Airbnb.
They opened their home to families with pets who greatly enjoyed the large backyard area, as well as those with small children so that their daughter, Stacy, would have someone to play with.
“There’s only three of us plenty of room that’s not being used. It made us feel good that we were helping people that probably couldn’t afford a hotel. We met some really great people and we thought it was important for our daughter to have a chance to meet people from all over,” said David Sandahl.
Not only was it great fun for them, but they also believed it helped boost tourism in the town of Plainview.
“We think it was really good for Plainview because they bought gas here, they went to restaurants,” said Mr. Sandahl. “People were spending money in Plainview that they otherwise wouldn’t have spent.”
Their run as “Super Hosts” was cut short however, when they city officials knocked on their door asking that they stop taking in guests immediately and that they could not allow them to run Airbnb any longer because it violated code enforcement and zoning regulations.
“Renting out a room, a boarding house, is not allowed for a single-family residence. I can have a multi-family residence and have a boarding house structure renting out the rooms,” said Dr. Charles Starnes, a councilman with the City of Plainview and economics professor at Wayland Baptist.
Despite this however, Dr. Starnes says he and other members of the council have had positive discussion about potentially bringing Airbnb back in town with some adjustment to the older regulations.
“The discussions on the issue specifically Airbnb have been very enthusiastic about exploring how this can be done right. How we can make Airbnb an option for the citizens of Plainview share the hospitality of Plainview with guests? Bring a little cash into the town which is always welcome, and perhaps even show that free commerce and exercise of personal property rights is an important aspect for our town.”
Although the adjustments to the zoning regulations and codes may take some time, the Sandhals say it gives them something to look forward to.
“We can honestly say this is the nicest place we’ve ever lived. The people of Texas are great, and we love sharing Plainview with those outside,” said Mr. Sandahl.
