4 ms·

Good. Hotels and hostels are for tourists, apartments should be for residents.

by bjl 9y ago

gonvaled 9y ago
Agree. If Abnb wants to disrupt the hotel market, build cheap and good quality hotels.
- prostoalex 9y ago
  The concept of "student hotels", which is a step above most hostels, is quite well-known in Barcelona, e.g. http://www.melondistrict.com/en/barcelona/ http://www.melondistrict.com/en/barcelona/
atemerev 9y ago
Let the market decide. I am a resident, and I rent an apartment, but I have no objection over AirBnB. Tourists are good. Spain's economy is struggling. Renting an apartment to tourists via AirBnb is a lifesaver for some of my friends in Barcelona, who lived for some time without the ability to find any job (unemployment rates in Spain are ridiculous).
- wrasee 9y ago
  That does kind of miss the whole point of the article. If you are a resident, you rent an apartment, and pay an extra 23% that in part is due to the ease at which firms like AirBnB let speculators buy up apartments and rent them out to tourists for a profit. Tourism is good for Spain, that's not lost on anyone. But the profits are not evenly distributed. Not all social problems can be solved by the market.
  - atemerev 9y ago
    Why the profits should be "evenly" distributed? Even distribution is unfair. Fairness is way more important than equality (in fact, "equality", if unfair, is definitely something you wouldn't want to create). If my friend can rent her apartment for some amount of money and it helps her to survive jobless periods, why she (or I) should bother that somebody is doing it on the larger scale for larger profits? Good for them. And preventing these profits by prohibiting AirBnb will also kill her small income stream, which is way more important to her than it is for the rich guys (who will just invest freed money to something else).
- crucialfelix 9y ago
  If it's somebody renting their flat or extra rooms then it's not a problem. I'm in a lovely Airbnb right now sitting in the beautiful back yard. The problem is when people have 10 apartments or whole houses cut up into rooms. This happens in Berlin. That is a professional operation avoiding professional costs. That isn't the market deciding, it's unfair competition by evading tax and insurance that a hotel must pay for. And it really is hurting locals in places like Berlin that have a severe shortage.
  - atemerev 9y ago
    Why do you consider a hotel tax to be a priori fair?

Good. Hotels and hostels are for tourists, apartments should be for residents.

by bjl 9y ago

Good. Hotels and hostels are for tourists, apartments should be for residents.

gonvaled 9y ago

Agree. If Abnb wants to disrupt the hotel market, build cheap and good quality hotels.

prostoalex 9y ago
The concept of "student hotels", which is a step above most hostels, is quite well-known in Barcelona, e.g. http://www.melondistrict.com/en/barcelona/ http://www.melondistrict.com/en/barcelona/

atemerev 9y ago

Let the market decide. I am a resident, and I rent an apartment, but I have no objection over AirBnB. Tourists are good. Spain's economy is struggling. Renting an apartment to tourists via AirBnb is a lifesaver for some of my friends in Barcelona, who lived for some time without the ability to find any job (unemployment rates in Spain are ridiculous).

wrasee 9y ago
That does kind of miss the whole point of the article. If you are a resident, you rent an apartment, and pay an extra 23% that in part is due to the ease at which firms like AirBnB let speculators buy up apartments and rent them out to tourists for a profit. Tourism is good for Spain, that's not lost on anyone. But the profits are not evenly distributed. Not all social problems can be solved by the market.
- atemerev 9y ago
  Why the profits should be "evenly" distributed? Even distribution is unfair. Fairness is way more important than equality (in fact, "equality", if unfair, is definitely something you wouldn't want to create). If my friend can rent her apartment for some amount of money and it helps her to survive jobless periods, why she (or I) should bother that somebody is doing it on the larger scale for larger profits? Good for them. And preventing these profits by prohibiting AirBnb will also kill her small income stream, which is way more important to her than it is for the rich guys (who will just invest freed money to something else).
crucialfelix 9y ago
If it's somebody renting their flat or extra rooms then it's not a problem. I'm in a lovely Airbnb right now sitting in the beautiful back yard. The problem is when people have 10 apartments or whole houses cut up into rooms. This happens in Berlin. That is a professional operation avoiding professional costs. That isn't the market deciding, it's unfair competition by evading tax and insurance that a hotel must pay for. And it really is hurting locals in places like Berlin that have a severe shortage.
- atemerev 9y ago
  Why do you consider a hotel tax to be a priori fair?