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Last week I rented a room for a week through airbnb.com at a place that is basically running a commercial hotel operation (as an aside, the place was great) whi

Last week I rented a room for a week through airbnb.com at a place that is basically running a commercial hotel operation (as an aside, the place was great) while apartment hunting in NYC. While there, my girlfriend dug up a bunch of stories about the neighbors complaining about condo unit owners leasing out units to this place. I can understand both sides of the argument; if I'd just bought a condo in a building I wouldn't be happy about a large majority of the other units being rented out every night to tourists. I got the distinct impression that there had been a problem with crime and people being disruptive in the buildings recently, although the whole time we were there it was quiet. Apparently the owner of this hotel has approached a bunch of building owners with vacant condos and offered to lease them. The building owners are very happy (as apparently they are getting more then they would to rent them as apartments). I will say that I stayed in a giant two bedroom loft in Williamsburg for about half the cost of a "regular hotel"; so it's definitely appealing. After checking out, I actually got an email from the hotel with the number for New York Speaker's office asking us to call them about bill Bill A10008.

fgf 16y ago
Having a steady stream of noisy neighbours is no different from having one. The solution is the same; hold whoever rents the apartment accountable. (This would be easier if throwing people out was.)
- fgf 16y ago
  Seriously? If a couple gets drunk and play loud music 4 nights a week thats equal too a couple of tourists doing the same thing. And I would bet that loud tourists are a very small subset of noisy neighbours; in any case the person who rents the apartment can and should be held accountable. It should also be obvious that laws that make it easier for landlords to throw out renters who create problems (and perhaps make them liable if they don't) could effectively solve this problem. There is a difference between brevity and snarkiness.
- varjag 16y ago
  Uh no. You can have a noisy neighbor, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make them reasonably quiet at night. Now, try doing that with the tourists who are in just for a couple of days and don't give a damn.
  - fgf 16y ago
    Uh yes. You can have a neighbour who trough airbnb rents out to noisy tourists, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make sure he makes sure it's reasonably quiet at night. If any changes in laws would be necessary to make these processes identical they should be smaller and less disruptive than an outright ban on activities like those of airbnbs lenders.

fgf 16y ago

Having a steady stream of noisy neighbours is no different from having one. The solution is the same; hold whoever rents the apartment accountable. (This would be easier if throwing people out was.)

fgf 16y ago
Seriously? If a couple gets drunk and play loud music 4 nights a week thats equal too a couple of tourists doing the same thing. And I would bet that loud tourists are a very small subset of noisy neighbours; in any case the person who rents the apartment can and should be held accountable. It should also be obvious that laws that make it easier for landlords to throw out renters who create problems (and perhaps make them liable if they don't) could effectively solve this problem. There is a difference between brevity and snarkiness.
varjag 16y ago
Uh no. You can have a noisy neighbor, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make them reasonably quiet at night. Now, try doing that with the tourists who are in just for a couple of days and don't give a damn.
- fgf 16y ago
  Uh yes. You can have a neighbour who trough airbnb rents out to noisy tourists, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make sure he makes sure it's reasonably quiet at night. If any changes in laws would be necessary to make these processes identical they should be smaller and less disruptive than an outright ban on activities like those of airbnbs lenders.