Housing Watch: Exeter couple transforms guest room into popular Airbnb rental

EXETER, Calif. (KFSN) -- Not far from Downtown Exeter, a private suite nestled behind a home has become a favorite among tourists visiting Sequoia National Park.

The park entrance is just 20 minutes away from the Airbnb rental.

Tosha and Darin Pace say they were broke, so they were looking at ways to make some money.

"Our children, five out of the six are in college, and so we have a space and we have lots of bills," said Darin.

They fixed up a guest room in their home and made it available for $60 a night.

"We went into it as looking as if we were the travelers and so we even stayed in there a night or two just to see how it felt."

139 check-ins later, Tosha and Darin were named the state's number one, new Airbnb superhosts.

"Yeah, we were. To be top in California really is an honor and we never dreamed that it would be that successful. We thought we'd just get a couple of people."

Most of the guests are tourists from Germany and Spain here to see Sequoia National Park.

"It's been a really good experience for us, just to be able to meet international people who have different perspectives," Darin said.

The suite used to serve as a kids' bedroom, so they had to redecorate.

Once they made the rental available in April, guests immediately started signing up.

"Oh, it was within a week we started getting bookings," recalled Tosha.

Now, the Paces end the year as Airbnb's top new superhosts.

"When we got the email from Airbnb, we just both looked at each other and were like, 'What?" Tosha said.