3 ms·

Is AirBnB harmful for the society because it decreases the demand for hotels, or what is the thought process here?

• CabSauce 9y ago
  It's harmful to hotels, but the argument is that the AirBnB sellers and consumers get more benefit than hotels lose. Increases in efficiency should result in a net benefit to society. Assuming perfect information, free-markets, yadda yadda.
  • cirgue 9y ago
    This isn't correct. The major problem with Airbnb isn't that it competes with hotels, it's that full-time residents have to compete with Airbnb for housing. Airbnb owners typically violate local laws preventing short-term rentals in residential properties. Short-term renters have a higher willingness-to-pay than long-term renters, and it currently makes more financial sense for me to rent a 2-br and Airbnb one room than to have a room mate or get a 1-br. There is now one less room in the housing stock of my city for long-term renters, thus driving up the cost of living for people who live in the city full-time.
    • CabSauce 9y ago
      Increased rental prices are great for home-owners.
      • cirgue 9y ago
        Absolutely, but a city needs a stable rental market that isn't subject to the vicissitudes of tourism/travel demand.
    • owebmaster 9y ago
      This is more like the harm to society I was talking about, but there is more. Small hotels and b&b are an important part of touristic cities' economy, when airbnb get to drain most of the $ coming from tourists you'll scramble local economy. Booking have the opposite effect imo (it is like uber x taxi apps).