The situation is painfully relatable: a 60-year-old single woman visits San Francisco a few times a year, loves the Great Highway and Golden Gate Park, and just wants a simple place to stay near 26th Avenue for a month. She's never used Airbnb. She doesn't know if she's in the Inner or Outer Sunset. (For the record: 26th Avenue is solidly Outer Sunset, and there's no shame in not knowing.)

But finding a short-term rental in the Sunset? That's where San Francisco's regulatory brilliance really shines. The city's short-term rental laws are among the most restrictive in the country. Hosts must register with the Office of Short-Term Rentals, carry liability insurance, and can only rent out their primary residence for a maximum of 90 unhosted nights per year. The result? Drastically limited inventory, especially in residential neighborhoods like the Outer Sunset where supply was never abundant to begin with.

As one local in an online forum pointed out, "AirBnB is fine. The selection in Outer Sunset will be very limited. You could also get a room at the nearby motel — most are close to the beach, perfect to go to the Great Highway." Another suggested something even more old-school: "Homeowners in the neighborhood are often looking for housesitters while they are on vacation. Ask your son to check local Facebook or Nextdoor."

That housesitting tip is actually solid — and it highlights something the city's planners never seem to grasp. When you regulate platforms into near-oblivion, people don't stop needing housing. They just find workarounds that generate zero tax revenue and zero oversight.

San Francisco collected over $40 million in hotel tax revenue from short-term rentals at its peak. Tighter restrictions have squeezed that number. Meanwhile, visitors like this mom — who would spend money at Sunset markets, local restaurants, and neighborhood businesses for a full month — are left scrambling.

Nobody's asking for a free-for-all. But a mother visiting her son for 30 days shouldn't need a law degree and a Nextdoor account to find a place to sleep. The Sunset District could use the foot traffic. The city could use the revenue. And maybe, just maybe, the regulators could use a little common sense.