12 ms·

Having used AirBnB for a while, I now prefer to stay in a hotel. Staying in AirBnB I don't feel safe at all and 80% of the AirBnB's I stayed had one problem or

• DINKDINK 9y ago
  >I hope their lobbying finds success. Your opinion piece is fine until your last line where you support using the state to ban other people from making the choice that you prefer not to make.
  • ythn 9y ago
    > Your opinion piece is fine until your last line where you support using the state to ban other people from making the choice that you prefer not to make. What's wrong with that? Virtually every regulatory law does this. Unless you are arguing that the state should not be able to regulate anything, I don't see why supporting regulations in one industry or another is a bad thing.
  • 67726e 9y ago
    How about this: I hope the hotels successfully lobby to enforce existing zoning laws. I don't want my neighbors running a business out of their house. If they break the law, punish them. Simple as that.
    • snakeanus 9y ago
      > I don't want my neighbors running a business out of their house Why?
      • WkndTriathlete 9y ago
        Common concerns: * Increased traffic * More noise * Greater odds of criminal activity * Resultant reduction in nearby property values These are not theoretical and are part of the reason why zoning laws exist.
        • sanderjd 9y ago
          Related to most of the above: a lot of people like to know their neighbors so that they can be comfortable talking to them if there's a problem. Full time rentals mess that up. Now you might well find yourself going to complain to a stranger who couldn't care less what you think, and it's a different stranger every weekend.
      • nommm-nommm 9y ago
        http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-house-glendale-20140106-story.html http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-airbnb-party-hou... >Neighbors of what critics say is a “party house” in the Glenwood community told the Glendale News-Press that the constant partying in the 1300 block of Norton Avenue was interfering with their sleep in the early-morning hours. They said they’d find beer bottles in the street, people fighting on the sidewalk in the early-morning hours, parking clogged and loud music blaring. >Frank Higginbotham, who lives across the street from the house, said he saw tour buses with about 30 people pull up to the residence for a party about two weeks ago. >Earlier in December, neighbors, said, there was one party that had to be shut down using a powerful spotlight from a hovering police helicopter and several police officers. >“This was like a war zone,” he said, adding that parties have been going on every weekend for months. “Every night I came home, I was scared to think about what I was going to find here.”
        • xapata 9y ago
          I'd be amazed if they were violating no laws. Surely the law would help the neighbors regardless of whether or not the party host was an AirBnB.
      • 67726e 9y ago
  • dominotw 9y ago
    But, we want govt to ensure our safety at work, from the drugs we buy at the pharmacy. An ordinary person doesn't have the tools to verify this information for himself.
    • mason240 9y ago
      Then stay in a hotel.
  • kesselvon 9y ago
    Last time I checked, running an unlicensed hotel was still illegal
    • xapata 9y ago
      Would you get a haircut from an unlicensed hairdresser?
      • cuckcuckspruce 9y ago
        No. I don't want to get lice or a scalp infection.
        • xapata 9y ago
          I guess I've been lucky so far.
      • kalleboo 9y ago
        In Sweden there is no such thing as hairdresser licensing. I guess I've been at mortal risk all this time!
      • dexterdog 9y ago
        I do it all of the time when I cut my own hair. I cut hair for other people when they ask. I don't charge money, but obviously I am unlicensed.
    • kalleboo 9y ago
      What's a hotel though? Where I'm from, running a bed and breakfast (defined as 4 or fewer rooms and 8 or fewer guests) doesn't require any kind of special licensing. Of course running it out of an apartment runs afoul of every rental agreement I've seen.
      • philrapo 9y ago
        A common zoning distinction is that a bed & breakfast is a private home where the host lives in the home. If the host does not live there, many cities/towns would then consider it a hotel and subject it to different rules. I think a lot of the arm waving about airbnb is because of the latter situation. I don't think many people seem to have issues with renting out a spare room.
  • mdpopescu 9y ago
    That is a general rule with prohibitionists. "I don't drink, so nobody else should." "I don't do drugs, so nobody else should."
    • cuckcuckspruce 9y ago
      "I don't die in a fire because the short-term rental I stayed at doesn't have a working smoke detector!" Yeah, that's really the prohibitionist mindset there.
      • smokeyj 9y ago
        As opposed to having your rental be burned down by a long-term renter? That's an oddly specific preference..
        • metaphorm 9y ago
          a long term renter has a much greater vested interest in preserving the quality of life of the community and mitigating impact on the neighbors. the fire safety issue is a bit of a red herring. that's something that is the responsibility of the landlord and the local fire safety inspector anyway, not really part of the long term vs short term rental debate. the issues related to ABB tenants are about their lack of responsibility and accountability within the community, since they will be gone (forever) in a short period of time. the issues related to ABB hosts is that they evade regulations that their competitors cannot evade, and that (in some situations) they violate community laws or norms that exist for good reasons.
          • smokeyj 9y ago
            > the fire safety issue is a bit of a red herring. Which was the only point I was making. > that's something that is the responsibility of the landlord So you agree it's red herring because fire safety is already regulated.. > the issues related to ABB tenants are about their lack of responsibility and accountability within the community If I could demonstrate that responsibility and accountability were already regulated in communities - would you agree that your objections are red herring as well?
  • deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  • nommm-nommm 9y ago
    You can't sell an unsafe car. You can't run an unsafe restaurant. You can't build an unsafe building. You can't rent an unsafe home. You can't drive in an unsafe manner. You can't allow an unsafe number of people in your business. You can't run an unsafe salon. You can't practice medicine in an unsafe manner. You can't sell unsafe food. And you can't run an unsafe hotel.
    • tim333 9y ago
      Your usual airbnb property is not "an unsafe hotel." My flat is presently being let on airbnb and isn't suddenly unsafe because someone else is in it rather than me.
      • ryanbrunner 9y ago
        In my experience, the vast (90+%) of Airbnb properties share more in common with a hotel room than an apartment that is occasionally rented out.
        • dang 9y ago
          My experience is the opposite - 90% of the places I've stayed have clearly been people's homes or cottages. At least in the US. In Europe it was different but for me that's a much smaller sample size.
          • drewmate 9y ago
            I have the same experience as yours. Of the 7-8 AirBNBs I have stayed at, only 1 felt like a hotel (it was in Hong Kong, and the cheapest place I could find.) On the other hand, some of my best travel experiences have been eating meals with hosts, staying up talking about life and drinking by a bonfire with hosts, and otherwise getting the authentic AirBNB experience. Of course I wouldn't say that the hotel-type experience isn't out there (it may even be cheaper than hotels) but that's not why I do AirBNB. It would be a shame (both for hosts and guests) to have fewer opportunities like this available.
          • 9y ago
• microcolonel 9y ago
  If you like staying in hotels, wouldn't it be better if the hotel industry failed to lobby against AirBnB? That would mean cheaper rooms for you!
  • ouesp 9y ago
    After staying in AirBnB, I realized why I have to pay more in hotels. In hotels, we take things like security,clean beds,heating,cooling, a 24 hour reception etc for granted. But in AirBnB I have to waste my time behind all those things rather than enjoy my vacation or fulfill my purpose of the visit.
• reverend_gonzo 9y ago
  > And No, I dont want to read hundreds of reviews before I make my decision. I am back to hotel stays. I hope their lobbying finds success. The great thing about the free market is you get the choice. You don't have to pass a law to force everybody to also do as you choose. There are definitely problems with some AirBNBs. Renting out an apartment as if it was a hotel room should not be allowed. However. that should be a contract issue between tenant/landlord or owner/HOA, and also a local zoning issue. That said, there are also times that AirBNBs are very worthwhile. I've stayed in homes in the desert, far away from anything else. I've stayed in non-touristy neighborhoods in Venice, Stockholm, and Havana, that let me get away from the common areas and see local life. Hotels definitely have its pros and cons, as do AirBNBs, but there should not be federal regulation outright banning it.
  • anon1385 9y ago
    >The great thing about the free market is you get the choice. You don't have to pass a law to force everybody to also do as you choose. Not necessarily: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons
    • AnthonyMouse 9y ago
      That paper is about information asymmetry. If you know you're getting a room in someone's apartment, there is still no reason to prohibit informed customers from doing that.
      • eropple 9y ago
        And the externalities visited upon everyone else around the apartment renter?
        • Karunamon 9y ago
          They may or may not exist depending on the location, the layout of the building, the particular renter, the behavior of the homeowner, and probably about a thousand other variables that are impossible to even identify.
• dazc 9y ago
  I've stayed in an AirBnB maybe a dozen times and always had some problem or other that I've been expected just to accept - because it's AirBnB and not an hotel? I've stayed in lots more hotels and experienced fewer problems. The times I've had resulted in either a sincere apology or full refund (the last time for the 2 days stay rather than the one night I complained about). I can see the advantage of AirBnB for a group of people who are willing to compromise in return for a cost saving but not much else.
  • exergy 9y ago
    You make it sound like cost saving is a throwaway matter, an afterthought. I'm a grad student. Before Airbnb, I could only stay in hostels, which are worse than both hotels and airbnbs. Airbnb is awesome if I don't want to spend my holidays staying woken up by idiotic frat boys.
    • collyw 9y ago
      Some friends here are complaining that Airbnb apartments in their block mean that they are getting woken up by frat boy parties.
      • exergy 9y ago
        Haha, and so the cycle continues. Down with frat boys!
  • zip1234 9y ago
    A hotel is also less authentic. I stayed in AirBnB and hotels both when traveling through Europe and the AirBnB gives you a bit more local flavor vs hotels, which tend to be very standardized. I also was traveling with kids and AirBnB allows you to rent out an entire apartment for the price of a single hotel room. Much better. Hotels should lower their prices and increase their options and then maybe they would compete? Instead of anti-competitive legislation...
    • deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
• deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
• TallGuyShort 9y ago
  >> I dont want to deal with problems when I stay somewhere for pleasure or business This is why I've stopped using AirBnB. I had used it for multiple business trips and personal stays, and in only 2 of the places I've stayed has the host had any sense of professionalism. One slept in and wasn't up at the time they said breakfast was served. I eventually left before they woke up. Another canceled at the last minute because they were traveling. Too late for me to alter my other travel plans, so my only option was to take an expensive hotel room I wouldn't have booked otherwise, or miss that part of my planned vacation. Another had family staying and they clearly weren't equipped for all the guests. The problem with AirBnB is it's usually additional, passive income. It initially feels like this glorious free market, but there's not enough skin in the game for them. If they want to blow you off at the last minute you just have to with an expensive, last-minute back up plan. And they just forfeit some income they weren't really counting on anyway. I've been jerked around by hotels too, but not nearly as often.
  • nommm-nommm 9y ago
    I've never stayed at an AirBnB but this is the exact issue I have with using Uber - the quality is so incredibly inconsistent. They seem to encourage any random yahoo to sign up and start driving with minimal (no?) training.
    • TallGuyShort 9y ago
      Curious what area you've used it in? I've only used it in San Francisco / San Jose and once or twice in other cities, and have actually had reliable experiences. The last couple times the vehicle quality was way lower than before, though.
      • nommm-nommm 9y ago
        I travel a lot so pretty much everywhere along the east coast. I haven't been to the west coast since Uber has existed. Dont get me wrong, I've had great service with Uber as well but it's totally hit or miss. I still use it though because it is much more reliable than a cab most places and usually cheaper and I don't have to worry about payment.
• esMazer 9y ago
  Although I do not read hundred of reviews per stay I'm very picky and only choose the best.. this way I have stayed in multiple countries and have had very few issues with Airbnb. To be fair with Hotels you also have to do your work and read the reviews.
• feadog 9y ago
  Staying in AirBnB I don't feel safe at all and 80% of the AirBnB's I stayed had one problem or the other. This is almost the direct opposite of my own experience.
  • ouesp 9y ago
    Experience 1: Got an AirBnB in Montreal Canada in December 2016. The photos were great. The owner was quick to respond. So I booked it and reached the place. Bummer 1: No cable. ( But in the listing it was there) Bummer 2: No safety. The owner had converted an apartment into two, separated by a thin wall. The wall had come off and he had the gypsum wall leaning and cautioned me not to touch it. Since it was for 2 days and in the middle of a heavy snowfall, I let it pass. Fast forward some hours, a couple of people checked into the other half of the apartment, started playing loud music, shouting and smoking. The smoke started coming into my half of the place because the wall was not really sealed. Experience 2: Rented a place which had a profile photo of a family. I thought great ! When I checked in, I felt it was some sort of "setup" just for the purpose of renting it out for AirBnB, I asked the owner where she lived. She said "nearby". I felt something fishy as there was no family ! The reviews even said there was a family (fake reviews ? ). So after the owner left, I googled the address and to my surprise, I found that the address is under a rental agency. Next I found that the door lock is not working and internet is less than the speeds of dial up. I left the next day and disputed it on AirBnB. AirBnB said, "Its legal for rental agencies to list on AirBnB". ( what was the photo of that family then ? ) Since AirBnB was not willing to refund and gave me a 25$ coupon, I disputed with AMEX and got all my money back. That was my last & final stay using AirBnB. Deleted my AirBnB account after this incident.