Guest Lodging on Your California Farm or Ranch A Practical Guide What’s Inside? • Assessing yourself/farm/ranch • Permits & regulations • Planning your farm/ranch stay • What are you offering? • Staffing • Reservations/booking • Liability & Insurance • Finances/pricing/budgeting • Marketing • Hospitality & customer service • Budget template • Sample waivers & forms • Resources • Acknowledgements 1 Guest Lodging on Your Farm or Ranch ffering a farm stay, where working farms California farmers and ranchers offer a variety of and ranches provide lodging to urban or lodging options on their land, including rooms in suburban travelers looking for a country the family farmhouse, separate guest houses, cabins, Oexperience, can be a win-win for both parties. The yurts, glamping tents, tiny houses, trailers, RVs or farm or ranch diversifies its product offering, thus rustic campsites. County planning and environ- reducing risk and bringing in additional revenue; mental health departments regulate on-farm lodg- the traveler has a unique lodging experience. This ing and food service to overnight guests. Although guide provides advice and resources for farmers and California passed a statewide Agricultural Home ranchers considering offering on-farm lodging. Stay bill in 1999, each county must still create and enforce its own rules regarding allowances and per- Scottie Jones, founder and executive director of the US mitting for farm stays, short-term rentals, camping, Farm Stay Association and owner of Leaping Lamb and other on-farm lodging for guests. This guide Farm Stay, created much of the content in this guide. will discuss permitting for California farm stays on USFSA is a national trade association of farm stay page 3, but first you may want to assess whether the operators. Learn more at https://farmstayus.com/ hospitality business is right for you and your farm or ranch. A California farm stay is a hosted accommodation on a working farm or ranch with guests paying for the privilege of staying overnight. Guests are often Assessing yourself/your farm invited to help with the more benign farm chores if for on-farm lodging they wish (collecting eggs, feeding livestock), and may be offered a tour of the farm or ranch or per- efore you get into the business of inviting haps a chance to pick fruit or vegetables, observe guests to stay with you on your farm or agricultural activities or participate in a class or ranch, you might want to review the follow- workshop or other activity. Farm stay guests are not Bing list of questions: workers on the farm and are not expected to work for their stay. The farm stay is about the experience, • How comfortable are you talking with people be it relaxation, the ‘unplugged’ nature of the set- you don’t know? Can you share your experience of ting, the farm fresh food, or a little education about what it’s like to be a farmer or rancher? farming and ranching. • Can you see yourself as a host, an educator, a tour guide, a reservation clerk, a cook, and a maid? If not, do you know someone who can do some or all of these things for you? • Do you know how your land is zoned and whether you are allowed to build a cabin or add camping to your property? Have you spoken yet with your county planning department? • Do you have the necessary cash to invest in a remodel or a building or land grad- ing, as well as all the furniture and ameni- ties necessary to host guests overnight? If not, can you raise the cash? • Do you have an idea of how many nights you will need to be booked, and at what room rate, to break even on your invest- ment and ultimately to make a profit? • Have you researched the local 2 competition: what they charge, what they offer, how of income often they are booked? • Owner or tenant farmer must reside on property • Have you thought about your legal structure • Lodging and meals must be incidental to, and what you might need to know about insurance and not the primary function of the Agricultural necessary to cover your family, your business, and Homestay your guests? • Meals or snacks may be served to registered • Even if you don’t have a website of your own, do guests at any time you understand how the Internet works and how to • Price of food must be included in the price of use it as a tool for marketing? overnight accommodation • Do you have any training in the hospitality industry in terms of customer service and delivery of experience? If not, have you traveled enough to un- derstand what is and is not acceptable for travelers? • Finally, and most importantly, have you included your spouse or partner, and family members or others living or working on the farm, in this discussion? Is there a clear understanding of the commitment this will take in terms of time, energy…and your relationship(s)? If you can answer the above questions with a re- sounding “Yes!” then proceed cautiously, but con- sider seriously the added benefit of hosting guests on your farm or ranch. Not only will you diversify your farm income, you will be providing a retreat for some and an education for others, but always a re-connection with the land. A California Agricultural Homestay or “Farm Stay” he California Agricultural Homestay (or Farm Stay) Guidelines were established in 1999, and revised in 2008. These guidelines, Tincluded in the California Health & Safety Code, provide definition and guidance for county and local health jurisdictions to allow on-farm lodging and meal service to limited numbers of guests. The The majority of Agricultural Homestays are essence of California Agricultural Homestay guide- single-family style homes with non-com- lines are an allowance for counties to permit work- mercial kitchens. ing farmers and ranchers to serve meals at any time from a farmhouse kitchen to overnight guests, if • Permit required from county Environmental the counties decide to allow or permit farmers and Health Department ranchers to host limited numbers of guests. • No food preparation allowed in sleeping rooms • General cleanliness and sanitation required California Agricultural Homestay defined: • No commercial refrigeration requirements • Three-compartment sink or dishwasher that • A food facility with 6 or fewer guestrooms heats to at least 160 degrees F required. • Restricted to a maximum of 15 guests • Handwashing sink, soap & paper towels required • Must be located on and be part of a farm that • Adequate food storage required produces agricultural products as its primary source 3 • City, County, State bed tax (aka: transient occupancy tax) • Business tax license • Fictitious name filing with state • Fire department Sonoma County example Other Agricultural Homestay rules of permits, approvals needed • Owner or employee must pass approved and for a farm stay accredited food safety certification exam. • No live animals (pets included) allowed in • Zoning permit ($900 - $1300) dining areas during meals • Food Facility Permit from Dept. of • Agricultural products grown on the farm (in- Health Services ($500+) cluding eggs) may be served to guests, although all • Register with County Tax Collector, meat and poultry served to guests must be slaugh- tered in a USDA or CDFA approved facility. collect 12% of lodging fees, file and pay to • County Planning Departments define permit- County every quarter ting needed • CA Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage (ABC) license if serving beer, wine or spir- ome counties further restrict number of guests, its to guests number of rooms or type of lodging allowed. • Business Registration (with State of Counties decide in which zones to allow farm California) Sstays “by right” or with administrative or condi- • Fictitious Business Name tional use permits. Some counties add agricultural education requirements, although these are hard to • Insurance enforce. Also hard for counties to enforce is the re- quirement that agricultural production provides the primary source of income for a farmer or rancher hosting a farm stay. Some counties only allow farm Farm/ranch hospitality in the stays on parcels above a minimum acreage lot – 10 acres or 40 acres – or require higher level of permits world of short-term rentals for farm stays on smaller lots. Many counties follow arm stays fall under the larger hospitality cate- the state guidelines, allowing 5 or 6 rooms and 15 gory of “Short-Term Rentals,” that includes all guests with minimal permit requirements, however types of accommodations rented for less than all require kitchen inspections and permitting by F30 days. The largest influence on California short- the Environmental Health Department for meal term rentals growth is Airbnb. service to farm stay guests. Many California farm stay operators list their farm Regulation requirements, approvals and stay accommodations on Airbnb. In fact, Airbnb other permits that may be required for your includes a category it calls “farm stays.” Many Cal- farm stay: ifornia counties are currently (in 2019) involved in discussions about limiting or restricting short-term rentals, impacting some on-farm lodging. Counties • Building permits need to weigh the benefits of increased taxes paid • Use permits by short-term rental operators and increased com- • Health Department munity support for agriculture against community • Water/Sewer resistance to short term renters who impact the 4 community feel and decrease the supply of afford- able long-term rentals. Farmers may need to work Some organizations with their counties to maintain allowances for farm stays with minimal regulatory barriers as counties promoting on-farm lodging: move to restrict short-term rentals in general. • Read about one small scale farmer’s Important Note: Make sure your neighbors are Airbnb experience: How to Use Airbnb to Add on board or your idea may never get out of the Value to Your Small Farm or Ranch regulatory process • Farm Stay U.S.