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I agree that AirBnB removing housing stock can be a problem, but I don't think only shared units is the one right answer. For one thing, this seems hard to enfo

by dcosson 10y ago

I agree that AirBnB removing housing stock can be a problem, but I don't think only shared units is the one right answer. For one thing, this seems hard to enforce. Instead of renting out a one-bedroom unit on AirBnB, you could instead get a 4-bedroom and rent the bedrooms individually (or to be fully above board get a full-time tenant for one room and rent out the other 3 on AirBnB). And I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that this would kind of limit use to young, single, healthy people. People with disabilities or medical issues, families trips with kids plus grandparents, or even just older or more introverted people that don't want the hostel vibe may want or need more privacy than a shared unit. The other thing that gets overlooked is the flexibility AirBnB provides in the gray area between living somewhere and visiting - one can book an airbnb for a few weeks, pick up and move to a new city with no belongings, and look for a job while deciding whether to move there for longer. Or find a place to live for a short internship. People are doing this anyway via sketchy craigslist sublets, but it's a lot safer (I'm just assuming in terms of physical safety, but certainly in terms of avoiding scams) on a platform like AirBnB. Overall, I'm disappointed that cities are not at least looking at the popularity of AirBnB and, say, creating a new kind of zoning/licensing to officially allow some small percentage of AirBnB units, or allowing some hotel zoning & construction to be added to the fun residential neighborhoods where people want to live & stay. Or encouraging more subletting type rentals (every lease I've ever been on forbids it). If they were doing anything at all to acknowledge that AirBnB is providing something that a lot of people really want and allowing some aspects of that to flourish, I could get more behind these regulations to limit unlicensed rentals.

gehmbo 10y ago
I agree with you. I feel that Airbnb is unfairly becoming a scapegoat in the larger issue of housing supply in SF. I would rather see a new approach to taxing activities such as short-term rentals to increase funding for modernization efforts in SF such as high-density housing and rapid public transit.
Sanddancer 10y ago
Extended stay hotels for the kind of purposes you described already exist. They're essentially a small studio, with a kitchenette, are rented by the week, are larger than a normal hotel room, and have the personnel to ensure safety. The problem with zoning and having hotels in fun residential neighborhoods is that there often isn't the kind of civic infrastructure needed to support such things. Ability to ensure people adhere to noise ordinances, police officers, etc, are all issues that hotels have and need to be planned for.
- chii 10y ago
  > Extended stay hotels for the kind of purposes you described already exist. 'cept they are more expensive than airbnb. Zoning isn't going to help, because if said zoning either implies a tax, or some other disadvantage, then it'd get reflected in the cost. Airbnb is ecking out efficiency, at some externality cost that's not borne by the participants of the transaction. Atm, i dont know what that externality is, but society should try to figure that out, and make sure it gets paid for.

by dcosson 10y ago

gehmbo 10y ago

I agree with you. I feel that Airbnb is unfairly becoming a scapegoat in the larger issue of housing supply in SF. I would rather see a new approach to taxing activities such as short-term rentals to increase funding for modernization efforts in SF such as high-density housing and rapid public transit.

Sanddancer 10y ago

Extended stay hotels for the kind of purposes you described already exist. They're essentially a small studio, with a kitchenette, are rented by the week, are larger than a normal hotel room, and have the personnel to ensure safety. The problem with zoning and having hotels in fun residential neighborhoods is that there often isn't the kind of civic infrastructure needed to support such things. Ability to ensure people adhere to noise ordinances, police officers, etc, are all issues that hotels have and need to be planned for.

chii 10y ago
> Extended stay hotels for the kind of purposes you described already exist. 'cept they are more expensive than airbnb. Zoning isn't going to help, because if said zoning either implies a tax, or some other disadvantage, then it'd get reflected in the cost. Airbnb is ecking out efficiency, at some externality cost that's not borne by the participants of the transaction. Atm, i dont know what that externality is, but society should try to figure that out, and make sure it gets paid for.