Short-term Airbnb rentals stretch to a month and daily rates drop - oregonlive.com

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Matt and Darci Haney have been out on a financial limb before. In 2007, when the housing boom crashed and the economy followed, they pulled a house in Carlton they couldn’t sell off the market and, catering to consumer wants, opened it as a short-term rental.

Soon, weekends were booked by people wanting to spend a little time in Oregon’s wine country.

After hard work and success, the Haneys sold a home in 2018 and, navigating another time out on a financial limb, bought Westerlook Farm, a 47-acre estate, at the north fork of the Yamhill River in Carlton.

The 1911 Colonial Revival-style house was designed by respected architect Ellis Lawrence for the powerful Ladd family.

The Haneys plan: To live with their two daughters in the main house and create a vacation getaway in the 3,000-square-foot, remodeled guest house. The rental rate: Around $536 a night.

Travelers liked what they saw on Vrbo and Airbnb, and booked the space, blocks from downtown Carlton, to enjoy wine tasting, attend a wedding or just escape to a rural setting.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and stay-at-home orders were issued in March. The Haneys watched as all but one of their reservations, which stretched into fall, were canceled.

Instead of dashing their hopes and emptying their bank account, they came up with a Plan B.

They would charge a lower daily rate for longer stays. Guests responded and booked for about month.

“Having someone in there is better than letting it sit empty and what a great, private space to stay during a time of transition, especially for someone selling or buying a house,” says Darci Haney. “Ultimately, we would love to have it booked this summer for short terms. But even if airline reservations open up, people are not comfortable flying or the event they were coming out for has been postponed or canceled.”

Across the country, people who purchased a property with the idea that temporary renters would help pay the mortgage have been hurting since travel suddenly stopped in March.

A new survey by real estate company IPX 1031 found that part-time and full-time Airbnb hosts have dropped their daily rates as much as $90 on average and 45% of hosts say they won’t be able to sustain operating costs if travel restrictions and tourist disinterest last another six months.

To counter the slide in vacation rental revenue, owners are promoting longer stays at discounted rates to generate income.

Airbnb, Vrbo and other online travel agencies allow people to target their search to listings with weekly or monthly discounts.

“We’re so glad we don’t have two lodging places,” says Darci Haney.

At first, they thought of making the small carriage house on the farm a short-term rental as well as the guest house. Instead, they plan to recreate it as an office, creative meeting space and farm store and open it in July.

The Haneys will sell pears, apples, plums, produce and flowers grown on the farm, plus eggs from their flock of chickens.

“We have big plans to bring Westerlook back to being a fully functioning, working farm,” says Darci Haney, whose business with her husband, MD Haney & Co., includes construction, lodging, events, the farm and soon, the farm store.

Matt Haney was hired 17 years ago by a previous owner to upgrade the guest house on the farm. Much of his custom woodwork from the past remains. Last year, they painted and installed better heating and air conditioning, and Darci decorated.

“I wanted it to be a cozy, home away from home,” she says.

The two-story Guest House at Westerlook Farms sits in an oak grove. Inside are white paneled walls, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Original estate owners Charles and Sarah Ladd spent millions to create Westerlook during the pre-World War I years, according to historians. Architecturally, it was similar to the couple’s Portland mansion, Cedarhurst.

Banker and businessman Charles Ladd was the son of early developer and Portland mayor William S. Ladd.

Charles Ladd also dabbled in landscape design, according to a 1920 story in the Telephone Register of McMinnville. He hired three railroad cars to deliver plants to his estate.

His wife was as interesting.

Sarah Hall Ladd was a well-known landscape photographer who traveled the Columbia River on a houseboat with a darkroom during the summers from 1903 to 1905. The Portland Art Museum spotlighted some of her photographs in the 2008 exhibition, “Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957.”

“Her darkroom is still in the basement, untouched,” says Darci Haney.

— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

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