Anaheim, Home to Disneyland, Proving Popular for Short-Term Rentals

Anaheim is struggling to keep up with a glut of houses in residential neighborhoods being used as short-term rentals catering to Disneyland's crowds. The city is profiting, but neighborhoods, perhaps, are not.

2 minute read

November 16, 2015, 10:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Hugo Martin reports on the wave of popularity for short-term rentals, like Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, in the city of Anaheim—home, of course, to Disneyland. "Anaheim thrives on tourism," according to Martin, "But now city officials must respond to frustrated homeowners while trying to oblige rental owners — a new tax source — who host visitors to Anaheim's biggest tax-generator and employer: Disneyland."

Martin speaks with homeowners living in Anaheim fed up with the effects of short-term rentals in their neighborhoods, who describe late night parities, traffic, and overflowing trash bins as some of the more noxious realities of the intermittency of the city's population.

The Anaheim City Council, however, is trying to strike a balance, passing a temporary moratorium on permits for short-term rentals in September, "to give its staff time to research new regulations." The permit application already in place was adopted in 2014, which requires short-term rentals to pay an annual $250 registration fee and a 15 percent room tax. Those fees are generating "$200,000 to $300,000 a month for the city government," according to the article.

And those fees seem to be working for people looking to rent their homes. According to Martin, "By the time Anaheim adopted its temporary moratorium in September, it had already approved 221 permits for short-term rentals and was in the process of reviewing 182 additional applications. Although Anaheim is home to 150 hotels with nearly 20,000 rooms, the city was receiving five to 10 applications a week to operate new rentals."

Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

30 minutes ago - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

1 hour ago - The Urbanist

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

2 hours ago - CBC