- There's been several reports of SF landlords kicking out tenants from rent controlled apartments to lease out rooms on AirBnB. While I am against rent control (it's a terrible system that creates a few winners and fucks over most people who cannot get such a flat) it's obvious that this is an abuse of the system
- Until recently, AirBnB fought tooth and nail against paying hotel taxes.
I think safety regulations are mostly overkill, and I'd get rid of most of them in a heartbeat, but while those regulations exist, you cannot simply outcompete other players that are forced to follow regulations you avoid.
> There's been several reports of SF landlords kicking out tenants from rent controlled apartments to lease out rooms on AirBnB.
That’s the opposite scenario of the one describe initially.
> Until recently, AirBnB fought tooth and nail against paying hotel taxes.
> I think safety regulations
You appear to be conflating taxes (that do nothing for the end user, if increase budget pressure on safety and service) and safety -- and ignoring the fact that what is generally actually enforced are quotas. There is no significant taxes on taxis for instance: it's in every case I’ve heard about a self-enforced tacit price for recommending someone for a licence once you quit; the actual tax exist, but is generally negligible.
> while those regulations exist, you cannot simply outcompete other players that are forced to follow regulations you avoid.
Actually, if your service include a reporting tool, the HUGE and unquestionably largest addition of both AirBnB and Uber, but before them eBay, you end up having to follow far stricter practice that include service, and that, unlike regulations, can adapt.
Price control, quota, safety regulation, user reports… if you confuse those, you end up presenting a false dichotomy between two ways of organising a service.
- There's been several reports of SF landlords kicking out tenants from rent controlled apartments to lease out rooms on AirBnB. While I am against rent control (it's a terrible system that creates a few winners and fucks over most people who cannot get such a flat) it's obvious that this is an abuse of the system
- Until recently, AirBnB fought tooth and nail against paying hotel taxes.
I think safety regulations are mostly overkill, and I'd get rid of most of them in a heartbeat, but while those regulations exist, you cannot simply outcompete other players that are forced to follow regulations you avoid.