
Short Term Rental (2018) - luu
https://stephenrees.blog/2018/09/29/short-term-rental/
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supernova87a
I don't put the blame at the homeowner/absentee landlord, the building, or
even Airbnb. All these problems can be traced to city governments that
fail/refuse to respond to the changing dynamic of housing demand, and
_incentivize_ homeowners to buy and rent out their properties.

If cities managed/governed their property regulations correctly, we wouldn't
be facing a situation where development is so constrained, existing property
is so valuable (and appreciating), and short term capacity is so lacking. I
don't blame people for operating within the incentives that have been put up
for them. It's unavoidable. You think each individual Airbnb owner is
responsible for this situation?

Despite this article being from 2018, the problem of course continues, even
has gotten worse. And cities (well, most anyway) do nothing to manage their
growth _in conjunction with the unstoppable demand that they will have to
eventually acknowledge_.

~~~
CPLX
The premise of this argument is ridiculous. By this logic any law, of any
kind, that prohibits potentially profitable activity is the source of the
lawbreaking.

Is the reason people dump trash on vacant lots because we regulate landfills?

~~~
roenxi
In the extreme it is ridiculous, but in small doses it is actually not so
unreasonable.

The government is not an effective force at stopping people doing things that
most of everyone thinks should be done. Government prohibitions work best when
there is a small & unpopular minority which is being bought into line.

Contrast an alcohol prohibition with laws prohibiting murder. One of those is
popularly supported and generally effective. The other is a good example of
the law creating a wrongdoing out of nothing.

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kp98
As someone currently going through Airbnb hell, I’m really annoyed because on
one hand a short term rental market is so necessary for so many people. On the
other hand I despise Airbnb for enabling the following scenario: I rent an
Airbnb in the Toronto suburbs, there is WiFi advertised, as a remote dev my
livelihood depended on it. I get to the place, WiFi didn’t work, and there was
zero bedding on my bed. I contact the host and he tells me he doesn’t speak
English well (Chinese) but that I can just try fooling with the router. I do
so. Another guest then proceeds to blame me for the broken WiFi and threatens
my life (I literally have a picture of a note left addressing me on the
router). I then call Airbnb saying I don’t feel safe. Airbnb legitimately
sides with the host to my total shock. I sit there thinking what the hell and
just eat the loss and rent the next place.

Airbnb is so supply constricted that it virtually always sides with the host.
Compare that to NYC housing laws which are some of the most tenant friendly I
could’ve written myself. So Airbnb screws individuals through various policies
degrading consumer protection.

The world decided zero interest rates were good, so Chinese investors like the
aforementioned buy places outright with minimal capital down and rent them out
to local Canadians at a premium, driving rent and prices up. The result is
that domestic markets have been brutalized and the rich have won in the zero
rate economy, especially on housing.

I’ve had 8 Airbnb experiences and 4 turned out awful, the other four were
fantastic. I used to think the company was amazing for building this new
market now I’m completely jaded and feel bad for hoping this company rots

~~~
juskrey
After our recent month-long rent in US the host tried to bill us for some
minor (and likely preexisting, anyways, who actually even tries to notice
things like cooking pot wear on check in?) wear and tear in total for $1000 or
so. Was a bit shocking since we are using the service for years and are far
from destructive tenants. Airbnb sided with us and cancelled their request.
What else to tell? Apparently Airbnb does not like to lose its own money, but
also does not allow to extract unjustified value like that.

~~~
modo_mario
Even if you'd get some wear on your stupidly expensive handmade Japanese chef
knife and overpriced cast iron pan and whatnot...why leave that in the place
you rent out full time?

There's no way you get to 1000$ wear easily on multiple small things unless
you have someone's making an effort to be trash or breaks a large appliance in
which case it's provable and Airbnb probably knows it.

The story of someone getting scammed out of a lot of money like that can
spread.

~~~
juskrey
I have replied in the same manner: they should remove their petty items and
include regular wear in the rate instead of bothering people with "$50 water
stains" and such. Luckily airbnb also thinks so.

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matchbok
As a facilitator to these illegal dealings, Airbnb should be held responsible.
It has turned from a quaint little company for bed and breakfasts to a massive
illegal hotel and scam website. At the very best they are a huge operation to
transfer wealth to the owner class at the expense of everyone else.

~~~
nouveaux
At the same time, not allowing an owner to rent is transferring wealth to
corporate hoteliers. Why is that better? I rather transfer wealth to middle
class and upper middle class than give it to the 1%.

Does anyone know why its so hard to tax Airbnb? Airbnb should be responsible
for collecting tax on behalf of the state and county. Tax them and pass it on
to the little guys.

~~~
fxtentacle
Hotels are much easier to regulate than if every person becomes a fake
entrepreneur by renting out their apartment.

Plus zoning rules help to keep an area livable. That's why people usually live
in quiet areas and then walk over to the cafes down the road.

In Germany, you are required to bring plastic bags so that you can take home
your dog's poop. Many tourists don't know that, so ever since a neighbor
started offering his spare room on Airbnb, our neighborhood became covered in
dogsh. As a result, everyone now treats the AirBnb tourists with contempt,
which I guess is also not nice for them.

And why do you assume that AirBnb will not go to the top 1%?

For entering the short-term-rental market you first and foremost need enough
money to buy a nice city center apartment in addition to your actual home.
That sounds like Chinese investment bubble to me, not like the struggling
middle class.

~~~
ivanhoe
Just out of curiosity, did you try to talk to your neighbor and ask politely
that he informs his guests to clean up after their dogs?

~~~
fxtentacle
Our neighbor is actually one of the better hosts because he still lives in the
same house as his guests and talks to them in person. And he is trying hard to
limit the bad effects from his guests, but with little success.

The dogs are only one of many problems. As another example, in some countries
it is still customary to throw your trash onto the main road where it will be
burned at night.

Most of the issues are due to guests that have a very different culture and do
not speak German, French, or English. For newly rich Chinese, the host is
understandably at a loss to explain our dos and donts.

We also tried picture signs for explaining the dogs issue and there's a
government-paid waste bag dispenser nearby. But a large part comes down to
laziness and ignorance from the guests. If you never have to pick up your dog
poop at home, would you do it while on vacation? Would you still do it even if
nobody is watching?

The peak of that attitude are UK tourists, notorious for their entitled "I am
on vacation so I don't give a sh" approach. UK partying groups overdid it to
the point where governments prohibit direct flights to keep them away. So how
do you plan to re-educate them for a 3 day trip?

In my opinion, the only good option is keeping impersonal tourists out of the
residential areas. If they stay with friends and family, they will behave. But
if they stay anonymously, no way to make them behave.

[https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/858025/majorca-
protest-...](https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/858025/majorca-protest-mass-
tourism-palma-without-limits-there-is-no-future)

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AYBABTME
Speculation time. It's year 2050.

AirBnB and the likes have come to their full realization. What do you think
your city looks like? Where do the locals live? What do you think a "AirBnB
plateau'd" equilibrium looks like?

~~~
zelos
I guess something like the world before AirBnB?

Presumably the current regulations around short term rentals/hotels etc
developed over time in response to problems the initially unregulated industry
caused. So we'll end up going through the whole cycle again?

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swiley
There’s going to be a social or economic revolution over US housing prices. I
think everyone will be happier with an economic one although it will make the
politicians look bad.

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cm2012
Wonder what the current status is.

~~~
TaylorAlexander
The Airbnb listing is still active, but it only has reviews from September
2018. Apparently lots of people stayed that month, and none since? Or
subsequent reviews were removed after the rental owner got caught...

~~~
jonpurdy
Looks like there is no availability at all from now until at least a few
months in the future, so most likely the owner blocked off all the time to lay
low for awhile.

