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Home/Guide: the 90-day rule
Tier 3 & Tier 4 utilization

The 90-day rule is a minimum, not a cap.

San Diego’s current guidance says Tier 3 and Tier 4 licenses must be used for short-term residential occupancy at least 90 days each year during the license term. Accurate progress starts with complete booking data.

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A common wording mistake

Calling this the “Tier 3/Tier 4 90-day limit” reverses the rule. For these whole-home license tiers, the City describes a minimum of 90 utilization days. Different rules apply to other tiers.

Minimum ≥ 90 days
Verify against the source

The City’s current STRO page states that Tier 3 and Tier 4 hosts must use the license a minimum of 90 days each year and warns that failure to meet the requirement could put the license at risk of revocation.

City STRO page ↗
Tracking method

Build the annual picture quarter by quarter.

Treat annual pace as a reconciliation problem, not a single percentage pulled from one platform.

Coverage

Record every source

List the platforms and direct-booking records represented in each quarter. A total without a source inventory can look more complete than it is.

Deduplication

Count occupied dates once

Multiple source rows, corrections, or overlapping reservations should not inflate the number of distinct nights reflected in the workpaper.

Review

Keep the denominator honest

Show completed quarters and known gaps beside annual progress so managers can distinguish measured activity from missing data.

90-day FAQ

Avoid applying one tier’s rule to another.

Quarterly STR’s reporting workflow focuses on Tier 3 and Tier 4. Always verify the license tier and current City materials.

Is 90 days a maximum for Tier 3 and Tier 4 licenses?

No. For San Diego Tier 3 and Tier 4 whole-home licenses, the City describes 90 days as the minimum annual STRO utilization required to maintain the license.

Does the City provide an exception when bookings fall short?

The City’s current FAQ says the ordinance does not include exceptions to the Tier 3 and Tier 4 minimum-use requirement. Contact STRO Administration for questions about specific circumstances.

Can one quarterly report prove the full year?

Usually not. A full-year view needs all relevant booking activity across the calendar year, including every platform and direct-booking source.

Why does Quarterly STR call the metric informational?

The software only knows the records supplied to it. Missing exports, direct bookings, or later corrections can change the annual total, so the indicator is not a legal conclusion.

Start with a complete quarter, then build the year.

Upload all booking sources for the selected property and review what counted before using the annual pace indicator.