No Furniture? No Problem

What does a community of under 10,000 people do when a half-inch of massive deluge melts a recently charred sector of the San Ynez mountainside in a five-minute period, lathering a tranquil little village in a swathe of murderous muck and boulders, all in the early hours of a still, aphotic morning? 

If you are lifetime Santa Barbaran Melissa Peirson, sole owner and founder of Coastal Hideaways – the 22-year-old vacation rental business that provides pre-furnished rentals for vacationers, and those in need of “temporary housing” – you lend the victims who remain displaced and often traumatized an entire household of furniture, if this is what they ultimately need. 

“I needed to do my part. I usually charge,” Melissa says, “but I’m willing to give my time and furniture,” said the middle child of seven siblings. She adds that she’s glad to leave her Goleta warehouse entirely barren, to assist anyone affected by either or both tragedies. She has everything from couches, loveseats, chairs, dining room tables, coffee tables, end tables, beds, dresser drawers, coffee makers, lamps, microwaves – anything a house needs, she will lend free of charge. And with no catch whatsoever. 

However, for the thousands of Santa Barbarans who continue to eat, sleep, and breathe the lingering aftermath of the two dreadfully historic incidents that most still cannot fathom, this kind of idea and aid takes more than one single woman’s efforts to assist the victims who currently reside in damaged or empty homes. In other words, Melissa’s drivers and delivery trucks have contributed and continue to donate their time and efforts as well, and deliver furniture and other items to the disrupted lives due to the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide.

Melissa and Coastal Hideaways’ generous offer to provide victims with furniture from her Goleta warehouse emerges after her own displacement and that of her two Coastal Hideaways employees. Kelly, the business’s bookkeeper, lives in Ojai, and was also evacuated to her mother’s home in Camarillo, where she stayed until the 101 freeway reopened, January 21. Rachael, Melissa’s office assistant, was confined to her home without running water, gas, cell-reception, or power — with her husband and 5-year-old son — in their East Valley Road neighborhood. 

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Melissa has owned and sold five businesses in her career – companies that range from an overnight babysitting service called “Bed and Babies Inn,” to a skincare salon, as well as a makeup and skincare line of the same name: Elegance of Natural Beauty. She has also worked in the medical field, where she rose to the positions of regional and national sales manager. Her last business, before the birth of the current and successful Coastal Hideaways, was Medical Recruiters, where she recruited upper-level physicians and management for medical facilities.

And ever since KEYT News made Melissa’s offer public, her phone hasn’t stopped ringing. “KEYT was awesome about getting my contribution out there,” says Melissa, who includes independent housekeepers and cleaning services, vendors, electricians, and plumbers – such as BJ’s Plumbing and Daniel’s Electric – and handymen, and commends them for their prompt services in a time of palpable urgency. “They’re all just so great,” she says.

December and January are ordinarily busy months for Santa Barbara retailers; it is also an active time for vacationers and temporary residents to utilize the many homes Coastal Hideaways has to offer. But, “as a result of the Thomas Fire and the Montecito Mudslides, ninety-nine percent of our clients canceled the month of December, and many were forced to do the same or leave the property they had rented as a result of the Montecito Mudslides,” says Melissa. 

Back to “Normal”

But despite the temporary displacement of her and her two employees, and the weeks of cancellations and evacuations from their homes and business (and what Melissa referred to as a “mud pit” on her company doorstep and patio area), and despite the long days and cold nights of four-wheeled leviathans that—as of January 27 – continued to bellow and chew the earth that invaded the placid hours of Coast Village Road a few weeks ago, Coastal Hideaway Vacation Rentals has still found a way to help. 

As for the victims who endured the fury of environmental adversities, Melissa says, “I’ve never seen this in all my life. My heart goes out to them.”

Coastal Hideaway has properties in Montecito, Santa Barbara, Summerland, Montana, Hawaii, even Europe. Melissa works with other property management companies as well. And in “normal” times, clients are picked up from the airport or train station at no cost and then driven to the property they reserved, where “fresh-cut flowers” and a complimentary bottle of wine and welcome card await.

You can reach Melissa and Coastal Hideaways at (805) 969-1995; the website is www.coastalhideaways.com. The phone number for the contributions she has offered is (805) 448-1999.