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To me this seems a great illustration of why a lot of people in SF want to put restrictions on AirBnB even though they know Prop F won't "solve" the housing cri

by jdp23 11y ago

To me this seems a great illustration of why a lot of people in SF want to put restrictions on AirBnB even though they know Prop F won't "solve" the housing crisis. I'm curious how it looks to "No on F" supporters.

wavefunction 11y ago
Not just in SF. I live in Austin and we have investors from outside the city buying up residential properties from the already strained and limited pool to turn into STRs. Luxury condos displacing older and more affordable housing but it seems many are still sitting vacant. So much for 'market solutions.'
- wavefunction 11y ago
  0'd again, loving this shoot-from-the-hip place HN has become. At least post a reply if you disagree with what I've posted.
- dublinben 11y ago
  This problem exists in every city, and will continue regardless if Airbnb is regulated out of business. The real problem here is absentee landlords, charging arbitrary amounts of rent.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    One step at a time. Operate at scale, be prepared to be regulated at scale.
  - shaftoe 11y ago
    I imagine it's not arbitrary. They're charging what they can get for renting their property.
knorby 11y ago
The ad is poor, but is there anything to strongly influence your opinion on restrictions other than gut feeling of the company? A big claim made by proponents of Prop F is that the existing, and recently created, compliance by AirBnB and hosts has been questionable, and hotel taxes paid are a big part of that. On a KQED Forum on Prop F, David Campos made some big deal about how the amount of hotel taxes paid by AirBnB is obscure and unknown, even though the figure should be readily available to him as a city supervisor; it makes sense to me why AirBnB would want to advertise that (with their campaign budget that's 2/3 the amount they pay in SF hotel taxes per year apparently). Prop F is a slimy and questionable proposition in all dimensions, and it would make a broad law with impacts beyond AirBnB rentals. You shouldn't vote for or against it based on your gut view of the company.
spikels 11y ago
Why does pointing out that AirBnB pays a $1 million a month in hotel tax make people want to restrict AirBnB? People are way too uptight in SF. AirBnB already faces plenty of regulations - most passed in the past year. Prop F is not needed and won't lower housing costs in SF.

by jdp23 11y ago

wavefunction 11y ago

Not just in SF. I live in Austin and we have investors from outside the city buying up residential properties from the already strained and limited pool to turn into STRs. Luxury condos displacing older and more affordable housing but it seems many are still sitting vacant. So much for 'market solutions.'

wavefunction 11y ago
0'd again, loving this shoot-from-the-hip place HN has become. At least post a reply if you disagree with what I've posted.
dublinben 11y ago
This problem exists in every city, and will continue regardless if Airbnb is regulated out of business. The real problem here is absentee landlords, charging arbitrary amounts of rent.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  One step at a time. Operate at scale, be prepared to be regulated at scale.
- shaftoe 11y ago
  I imagine it's not arbitrary. They're charging what they can get for renting their property.

knorby 11y ago

The ad is poor, but is there anything to strongly influence your opinion on restrictions other than gut feeling of the company? A big claim made by proponents of Prop F is that the existing, and recently created, compliance by AirBnB and hosts has been questionable, and hotel taxes paid are a big part of that. On a KQED Forum on Prop F, David Campos made some big deal about how the amount of hotel taxes paid by AirBnB is obscure and unknown, even though the figure should be readily available to him as a city supervisor; it makes sense to me why AirBnB would want to advertise that (with their campaign budget that's 2/3 the amount they pay in SF hotel taxes per year apparently). Prop F is a slimy and questionable proposition in all dimensions, and it would make a broad law with impacts beyond AirBnB rentals. You shouldn't vote for or against it based on your gut view of the company.

spikels 11y ago

Why does pointing out that AirBnB pays a $1 million a month in hotel tax make people want to restrict AirBnB? People are way too uptight in SF. AirBnB already faces plenty of regulations - most passed in the past year. Prop F is not needed and won't lower housing costs in SF.