I'd be more in favor of activism on this point if AirBnB made any effort to limit their rentals to owner-occupied apartments. Someone renting out a spare bedroom in their apartment, or a spare couch, is one thing, but someone renting out a dozen apartments that they have never lived in, as basically an unlicensed hotel, is quite different.
A good first step would be imposing a limit of one rental property per person on the site, and making at least basic efforts to enforce it.
To be fair, this is basically an NYC problem. I haven't seen nearly the same level of shadiness on AirBnB in other cities, where people renting out spare rooms and couches seems to be the norm. But in NYC, a lot of the AirBnB listings are unlicensed hotels and unlicensed hostels, not people renting out spare rooms. I wouldn't be surprised if a good number were affiliated with organized-crime groups, either, since those are the main operators of unlicensed hotels.
> But in NYC, a lot of the AirBnB listings are unlicensed hotels and unlicensed hostels, not people renting out spare rooms.
Why do you care?
> I wouldn't be surprised if a good number were affiliated with organized-crime groups, either, since those are the main operators of unlicensed hotels.
When renting a room is outlawed, only outlaws will rent rooms.
On the first part: because unlicensed hotels are generally unsanitary and unsafe to stay at, are often run by shady operators who may rip you off or rob you, and are a nuisance to neighbors. Also, it's essentially misrepresentation, because AirBnB portrays itself as a place where you rent out someone's room from a real person, but then you're actually renting out a room in a fleabag hotel. If I was looking for low-end hotels I wouldn't be on AirBnB!
Comments
I'd be more in favor of activism on this point if AirBnB made any effort to limit their rentals to owner-occupied apartments. Someone renting out a spare bedroom in their apartment, or a spare couch, is one thing, but someone renting out a dozen apartments that they have never lived in, as basically an unlicensed hotel, is quite different.
A good first step would be imposing a limit of one rental property per person on the site, and making at least basic efforts to enforce it.
To be fair, this is basically an NYC problem. I haven't seen nearly the same level of shadiness on AirBnB in other cities, where people renting out spare rooms and couches seems to be the norm. But in NYC, a lot of the AirBnB listings are unlicensed hotels and unlicensed hostels, not people renting out spare rooms. I wouldn't be surprised if a good number were affiliated with organized-crime groups, either, since those are the main operators of unlicensed hotels.
> I haven't seen nearly the same level of shadiness on AirBnB in other cities
London, too.
> But in NYC, a lot of the AirBnB listings are unlicensed hotels and unlicensed hostels, not people renting out spare rooms.
Why do you care?
> I wouldn't be surprised if a good number were affiliated with organized-crime groups, either, since those are the main operators of unlicensed hotels.
When renting a room is outlawed, only outlaws will rent rooms.
On the first part: because unlicensed hotels are generally unsanitary and unsafe to stay at, are often run by shady operators who may rip you off or rob you, and are a nuisance to neighbors. Also, it's essentially misrepresentation, because AirBnB portrays itself as a place where you rent out someone's room from a real person, but then you're actually renting out a room in a fleabag hotel. If I was looking for low-end hotels I wouldn't be on AirBnB!