Gay's Story
Gay's Story
Santa Rosa, CA
"...through all of the ups and downs in my life. It provides security, both financially as well as emotionally."
My name is Gay Barner and I live in Santa Rosa. I am part of the Sonoma County Coalition of Hosts. I want to explain how I got involved in short-term rentals.
A while ago, when I was teaching, my husband developed cancer that was life-threatening. The Santa Rosa Kaiser could no longer treat him so we were sent to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto. I could no longer keep my teaching job so took an early retirement and went to be with my husband for his treatments. He ended up dying and I ended up back in Santa Rosa without a source of income and no husband.
Airbnb was my salvation. It was more than a source of income because it meant I could stay home and meet interesting people who came to stay with me. My life would never be able to go back to what I had before so I was making a fresh start using my hosted rental as my source of income and my interest. I could work at something that I enjoyed and loved doing it.
That situation lasted for several years very happily. Then I met my new husband a few years ago. After a couple of years together, he was diagnosed with dementia. His dementia was later identified as Alzheimer's Disease. I took care of him at home since I could run my Airbnb at the same time. But then it became impossible for me to do the caregiving that he required. He, then, was admitted to a skilled nursing facility that I went to in order to be with him. He is now back at home because he is on Hospice. I can still maintain my Airbnb as a source of income which has been a true blessing.
I have relied upon my Airbnb income for years now using my guest house on my property, through all of the ups and downs in my life. It provides security, both financially as well as emotionally. Because it is home-based, I can run it while doing all of the things that I need to do to keep my life sane.
I am very appreciative of my ability to take care of myself using Airbnb. I want to thank the people governing short-term rentals in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County for giving me this privilege, also.
Thank you for your time.
A while ago, when I was teaching, my husband developed cancer that was life-threatening. The Santa Rosa Kaiser could no longer treat him so we were sent to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto. I could no longer keep my teaching job so took an early retirement and went to be with my husband for his treatments. He ended up dying and I ended up back in Santa Rosa without a source of income and no husband.
Airbnb was my salvation. It was more than a source of income because it meant I could stay home and meet interesting people who came to stay with me. My life would never be able to go back to what I had before so I was making a fresh start using my hosted rental as my source of income and my interest. I could work at something that I enjoyed and loved doing it.
That situation lasted for several years very happily. Then I met my new husband a few years ago. After a couple of years together, he was diagnosed with dementia. His dementia was later identified as Alzheimer's Disease. I took care of him at home since I could run my Airbnb at the same time. But then it became impossible for me to do the caregiving that he required. He, then, was admitted to a skilled nursing facility that I went to in order to be with him. He is now back at home because he is on Hospice. I can still maintain my Airbnb as a source of income which has been a true blessing.
I have relied upon my Airbnb income for years now using my guest house on my property, through all of the ups and downs in my life. It provides security, both financially as well as emotionally. Because it is home-based, I can run it while doing all of the things that I need to do to keep my life sane.
I am very appreciative of my ability to take care of myself using Airbnb. I want to thank the people governing short-term rentals in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County for giving me this privilege, also.
Thank you for your time.
