This video is pretty disingenuous in my opinion - it appears this woman remains in the home when people rent out a room (such that she share experiences with them according to the video). Looking through listings in NYC, this is not the common case at all - it's actually expected that a unit rented through Airbnb will be empty during your stay.
It's also getting more common that people are purchasing real estate for the sole purpose of renting it out through Airbnb. When I stayed in NYC via Airbnb, I never even met the owner of the unit (keys were dropped off at a coffee shop across the street) and it was very obvious that nobody ever lived in the unit.
I also have a problem with the tone of the video - "_I_ should be able to do this because it is a good thing for _me_." What about everyone else that lives in the building? They never signed up to live in a hotel. As a condo owner myself, I don't want random people that haven't been screened getting access to my otherwise secure building. I don't want to have to pay for any damage that they cause and I don't want to deal with any of the association rules that they break (noise regulations, pet regulations, parking, etc). While Airbnb might be great for the people renting out their home, it's a sum negative for everyone else legally living in the building.
Not only is the video disingenuous in implying that the standard Airbnb host is someone who simply rents a room (which would not be subletting and would not be subject to nearly as many concerns), the other facts they have on the site support entirely different economic stimulus arguments, and entirely ignore the zoning and legal questions, where they know they are completely wrong.
It is frustrating to see Airbnb attempt to manipulate their way to winning. While we tend to hate people who abuse regulation to stay in power, Airbnb seems to be attempting to do the same from the other side. That they are already attempting this level of manipulation before having the level of power of the hotel lobby should give us some concern about a future in which Airbnb runs the vacation rentals game.
"This video is pretty disingenuous in my opinion...
This was my thought too. This quote by architect Christopher Alexander from his book A Pattern Language" feels very relevant:
"…face-to-face rental, with the owners occupying the main structure is the one kind of rental relationship that is reasonably healthy. The landlord is actually there, so he is directly concerned with the well-being of the life around him and with the environment, unlike the absentee landlords who own property only for the money which it makes."
In the UK, we have huge numbers of buy-to-let landlords. They are the worst type of abstentee landlord. I see AirBnB operating in the same space.
People like having familiar neighbours, not neighbours who come and go contantly, and who have no commitment, concern or care for their neighbourhood; or for their immediate neighbours. Do these things matter to absentee landlords? For most of them (especially in the UK), absolutely not.
Housing has a social factor that cannot be ignored. In fact, it isn't ignored in countless countries who place restrictions on renting property for the very reasons above.
Yup. It started with the campaign touting the positive effects on the NYC economy, now it's the "let's pull some heartstrings" video.
For those who missed it, I've outlined my experience with AirBnB (as a non-host in a building with hosts) last week - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849 (top comment)
For anyone defending AirBnB here's a nice list of things to read before you do so:
The gist of virtually all of the complaints against AirBNB is that it imposes costs on the neighbors.
And of course, it does.
There is a multitude of ways of dealing with that. If you cut the neighbors in on the action, they may take a liking to your side-business. A smart host will do just that.
At the end of the day, the only ones who can't be placated are the ones losing business because of this. The hotels. Well, that's just business.
I lived in a building where one of the tenants full-time rented out their unit on AirBnB. The "guests" would tag the elevator, make noise, and trash the hallways. Also, it felt very unsafe when a large group of 4-8 people would be crammed into a 1br apartment, and they'd be drunkenly stumbling through the otherwise quiet building.
Another problem is that even if you report that tenant, if they figure out who reported them, they may take revenge before they're evicted, since eviction proceedings take so long.
Comments
This video is pretty disingenuous in my opinion - it appears this woman remains in the home when people rent out a room (such that she share experiences with them according to the video). Looking through listings in NYC, this is not the common case at all - it's actually expected that a unit rented through Airbnb will be empty during your stay.
It's also getting more common that people are purchasing real estate for the sole purpose of renting it out through Airbnb. When I stayed in NYC via Airbnb, I never even met the owner of the unit (keys were dropped off at a coffee shop across the street) and it was very obvious that nobody ever lived in the unit.
I also have a problem with the tone of the video - "_I_ should be able to do this because it is a good thing for _me_." What about everyone else that lives in the building? They never signed up to live in a hotel. As a condo owner myself, I don't want random people that haven't been screened getting access to my otherwise secure building. I don't want to have to pay for any damage that they cause and I don't want to deal with any of the association rules that they break (noise regulations, pet regulations, parking, etc). While Airbnb might be great for the people renting out their home, it's a sum negative for everyone else legally living in the building.
Not only is the video disingenuous in implying that the standard Airbnb host is someone who simply rents a room (which would not be subletting and would not be subject to nearly as many concerns), the other facts they have on the site support entirely different economic stimulus arguments, and entirely ignore the zoning and legal questions, where they know they are completely wrong.
It is frustrating to see Airbnb attempt to manipulate their way to winning. While we tend to hate people who abuse regulation to stay in power, Airbnb seems to be attempting to do the same from the other side. That they are already attempting this level of manipulation before having the level of power of the hotel lobby should give us some concern about a future in which Airbnb runs the vacation rentals game.
It's not lobbying - it's 'political hacking'.
"This video is pretty disingenuous in my opinion...
This was my thought too. This quote by architect Christopher Alexander from his book A Pattern Language" feels very relevant:
"…face-to-face rental, with the owners occupying the main structure is the one kind of rental relationship that is reasonably healthy. The landlord is actually there, so he is directly concerned with the well-being of the life around him and with the environment, unlike the absentee landlords who own property only for the money which it makes."
In the UK, we have huge numbers of buy-to-let landlords. They are the worst type of abstentee landlord. I see AirBnB operating in the same space.
People like having familiar neighbours, not neighbours who come and go contantly, and who have no commitment, concern or care for their neighbourhood; or for their immediate neighbours. Do these things matter to absentee landlords? For most of them (especially in the UK), absolutely not.
Housing has a social factor that cannot be ignored. In fact, it isn't ignored in countless countries who place restrictions on renting property for the very reasons above.
Yup. It started with the campaign touting the positive effects on the NYC economy, now it's the "let's pull some heartstrings" video.
For those who missed it, I've outlined my experience with AirBnB (as a non-host in a building with hosts) last week - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849 (top comment)
For anyone defending AirBnB here's a nice list of things to read before you do so:
http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/item/airbnb-san-francisc...
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/1230/Berlin-squee...
http://tomslee.net/2014/05/the-shape-of-airbnbs-business.htm...
http://tomslee.net/2014/06/the-shape-of-airbnbs-business-ii....
The gist of virtually all of the complaints against AirBNB is that it imposes costs on the neighbors.
And of course, it does.
There is a multitude of ways of dealing with that. If you cut the neighbors in on the action, they may take a liking to your side-business. A smart host will do just that.
At the end of the day, the only ones who can't be placated are the ones losing business because of this. The hotels. Well, that's just business.
You obviously didn't read the articles. It imposes a cost on anyone looking for an affordable apartment in NYC (or SF, or Berlin, or...)
I lived in a building where one of the tenants full-time rented out their unit on AirBnB. The "guests" would tag the elevator, make noise, and trash the hallways. Also, it felt very unsafe when a large group of 4-8 people would be crammed into a 1br apartment, and they'd be drunkenly stumbling through the otherwise quiet building.
Another problem is that even if you report that tenant, if they figure out who reported them, they may take revenge before they're evicted, since eviction proceedings take so long.
"rent[ing] out a room...is not the common case at all"
Wrong! This is very common. Half the listings in Manhattan are for parts of apartments.