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The problem with AirBnB is not AirBnB. It's hotel regulation. What ABnB has demonstrated is that there is a vastly underserved market for regular travellers, w

The problem with AirBnB is not AirBnB. It's hotel regulation. What ABnB has demonstrated is that there is a vastly underserved market for regular travellers, who have no interest in 'having their sheets changed every day' - rather, they just want a decent and convenient space - and they can't afford the $250/night for a boring room 'corporate' rate. If hotels and their regulations were efficient - then AirBnB would only be used what is was kind of meant for: either sharing/hosting - or - renting out fairly 'special' places that just don't fit regular criteria. Most AirBnB stays are a matter of price and convenience. The fact that I can stay in cities, in a decent place for less than 1/2 the cost of a hotel is what makes me hate AirBnB less than hotels and city regulators. Something is deeply wrong with the hotel and regulatory areas there or else AirBnB wouldn't be a huge-huge thing. A commenter below about a building that seemed to be AirBnBers ... think for a moment how even more efficient it would be if the whole dam thing were just a hotel, with a maid staff that only cleaned and changed the sheets between stays and could provide keys/keycodes. As it stands, even AirBnB is not near real 'cost efficiency' because there's so much 'little overhead' with each rental. Not only should that building be a hotel but it should be cheaper than AirBnB! In fact, if markets were reasonably competitive AirBnB should generally be more expensive. I understand that individual patrons don't have nearly the safety and regulatory expenses ... but it doesn't add up. City regulators and hotel operators need to figure out a slightly different model.

lovich 8y ago
Preface: I dont actually have a set opinion yet on whether Airbnb is net good/bad. How much of this is regulation thats around to protect the society that the hotel is operating in? Changing those sheets everyday isn't just for having clean smelling sheets, but to prevent pests such as bed bugs in some localities. For instance there's probably tons of people whod jump on doctors/dentists who lower the price by not cleaning all their tools properly, but we have regulations requiring it because it can create an epidemic that causes negative externalities to the wider community. I think I'd have less of a problem with Airbnb if there was any sort of enforcement of health laws or putting effort into not supporting people who sign leases saying they won't do Airbnb but do it anyway. Having a lower price just shows that is the most efficient use of scarce resources in that specific situation, it does not show that it's good for society.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  "Having a lower price just shows that is the most efficient use of scarce resources in that specific situation" No, it's not 'specific'. The 'rent' marketing clearing price for a locale is a function of a vast array of economic inputs. That's the whole point of free markets, and why it's difficult to dictate terms around it. The fact that there is a vast influx of AirBnBers in so many areas is not a small things, it's really quite apparent that the artificial controls set by zoning are far more constrictive than we ever thought - and they should be loosened. There are all sorts of external surpluses lost when markets are not efficient. Also - I fundamentally doubt that people are just 'getting sick' because of AirBnB and 'not having their sheets changed every day'. I just don't believe it's an issue. FYI hotels have stopped changing sheets every day as well, they usually say 'to preserve water' which is BS - it's cost - but they generally do make the bed and clean every day which is unnecessary. I would probably ban AirBnB for anything but special kinds of places, and maybe not allow it in residential buildings, at least allow building owners/coops to enforce it. And then also be far more lax with hotel zoning and regulations as well. Every city wants more 'tourism' until they get tourists and they get pissed off. Well, those tourists bring in tons of cash. Every city wants business to invest and 'high tech' jobs until the locals complain about 'Google values' and 'home prices'. The market for both hotels and taxis is just too vastly distorted - and we all lose - especially consumers who would only be able to afford 1/2 as much travel otherwise. There should be a lot more hotels and taxis.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
    I experience the exact opposite in regards to “getting sick”. When I travel, which is quite often, I have a greater chance of getting sick when I stay in a hotel. I suspect it’s like being on a plane where you are breathing air that has been recycled with hundreds of other people. It’s noticeable enough that I definitely need to collect hard data on it to establish the correlation. Guessing anecdotally that if I stay in a hotel my chances of catching a cold are at least double and possibly triple my chance of catching a cold in a private AirBnB. The other part of your comment that I can identify with is the “save the environment” signs you see at hotels. It’s completely disingenuous and it’s one of the rare small things that irrationally infuriates me. Every time I read one of those signs I think something along the lines of “if this didn’t save you money you wouldn’t care”. I inevitably end up pondering the decisions that the hotel could make that would help save the environment many times more than a few wash cycles. Decisions that the hotel obviously wouldn’t take because it would cost the hotel money instead of saving them money. Perhaps my disaffection is mostly because the signs are a perfect example of corporate bullshit; the exact sort of facade you would expect from a faceless corporation that will say anything to get your money.
emdubs 8y ago
Yep. The issue is most markets is due to regulation. If hotels can't meet the price and availability needs in a market then the issue is the regulation. For temporary events that is understandable, but continued restraint on hotels makes no sense.
- behringer 8y ago
  Which burdensome hotel regulations would you like to see removed?
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    Zoning.
    - behringer 8y ago
      You wouldn't mind if your next door neighbor was a seedy roach motel or a 10 story holiday inn? Somehow I doubt it.
      - sonnyblarney 8y ago
        10 story holiday inns are very professionally run, they have security etc. Why do you think a hotel would be worse quality than residential? I live in a mixed neighbourhood and many of my neighbours are already roach motels. Franky, in all my travels I've never come across the proverbial roach motel, or anything totally run down. My concern would not be the business or people - just parking. As long as there isn't a big parking lot, there's no reason why I couldn't be next to a short term residential unit, I don't think many people would have any problems at all.
        behringer 8y ago
        So you want to regulate parking lots but not commercial and residential zoning? Makes sense.
RobPfeifer 8y ago
I think this is way oversimplifying things. Hotels and apartments are zoned differently and regulated and managed differently. There are negative externalities in apartment buildings for AirBNB hosts that are paid for by their neighbors. Zoning is designed (often poorly!) to do this on a neighborhood level, but not at all to do so on a building by building or apartment by apartment level. This is regulatory arbitrage for sure by AirBNB and hosts. The answer (theoretically) would be to more granularly undersrand the costs and benefits to all parties and redistribute appropriately. Unfortunately, neither the public or private sector is incentivized to solve this fairly - “competition” won’t solve it. Seems like a case where regulation would be the answer - it’s just unlikely any single city will solve it well, much less all of them.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  I really doubt the significance of the 'cost to the neighbour'. Really is this noise? Because I don't think that's a cost issue so much, nor do I feel hotels are particularly more quiet, or that AirBnB guests are particularly more noisy or rough on property. I think it's 80% an issue of artificial market distortion due to limitation. Cities need to rethink this. There is zero negative burden to my neighbourhood if the building I live in happened to be a hotel. It's time for a rethink.
  - jib 8y ago
    I strongly disagree. In a hotel I can call the reception and get them to deal with noise pretty quickly. In an apartment I’m stuck with no quick recourse if a bunch of assholes use Airbnb to rent out a flat next door to have a weekend of boozing (thank you, group of 7 Irish lads that left a bunch of puke all over my outdoors last month).
    - sonnyblarney 8y ago
      Yes, but regular residents of such a building have the same recourse: i.e. none - and there's little to suggest that AirBnB are truly more raucous than not. For every 'noisey airbnb' you hear about, there are 1000x regular noisy neighours.

lovich 8y ago

Preface: I dont actually have a set opinion yet on whether Airbnb is net good/bad. How much of this is regulation thats around to protect the society that the hotel is operating in? Changing those sheets everyday isn't just for having clean smelling sheets, but to prevent pests such as bed bugs in some localities. For instance there's probably tons of people whod jump on doctors/dentists who lower the price by not cleaning all their tools properly, but we have regulations requiring it because it can create an epidemic that causes negative externalities to the wider community. I think I'd have less of a problem with Airbnb if there was any sort of enforcement of health laws or putting effort into not supporting people who sign leases saying they won't do Airbnb but do it anyway. Having a lower price just shows that is the most efficient use of scarce resources in that specific situation, it does not show that it's good for society.

sonnyblarney 8y ago
"Having a lower price just shows that is the most efficient use of scarce resources in that specific situation" No, it's not 'specific'. The 'rent' marketing clearing price for a locale is a function of a vast array of economic inputs. That's the whole point of free markets, and why it's difficult to dictate terms around it. The fact that there is a vast influx of AirBnBers in so many areas is not a small things, it's really quite apparent that the artificial controls set by zoning are far more constrictive than we ever thought - and they should be loosened. There are all sorts of external surpluses lost when markets are not efficient. Also - I fundamentally doubt that people are just 'getting sick' because of AirBnB and 'not having their sheets changed every day'. I just don't believe it's an issue. FYI hotels have stopped changing sheets every day as well, they usually say 'to preserve water' which is BS - it's cost - but they generally do make the bed and clean every day which is unnecessary. I would probably ban AirBnB for anything but special kinds of places, and maybe not allow it in residential buildings, at least allow building owners/coops to enforce it. And then also be far more lax with hotel zoning and regulations as well. Every city wants more 'tourism' until they get tourists and they get pissed off. Well, those tourists bring in tons of cash. Every city wants business to invest and 'high tech' jobs until the locals complain about 'Google values' and 'home prices'. The market for both hotels and taxis is just too vastly distorted - and we all lose - especially consumers who would only be able to afford 1/2 as much travel otherwise. There should be a lot more hotels and taxis.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
  I experience the exact opposite in regards to “getting sick”. When I travel, which is quite often, I have a greater chance of getting sick when I stay in a hotel. I suspect it’s like being on a plane where you are breathing air that has been recycled with hundreds of other people. It’s noticeable enough that I definitely need to collect hard data on it to establish the correlation. Guessing anecdotally that if I stay in a hotel my chances of catching a cold are at least double and possibly triple my chance of catching a cold in a private AirBnB. The other part of your comment that I can identify with is the “save the environment” signs you see at hotels. It’s completely disingenuous and it’s one of the rare small things that irrationally infuriates me. Every time I read one of those signs I think something along the lines of “if this didn’t save you money you wouldn’t care”. I inevitably end up pondering the decisions that the hotel could make that would help save the environment many times more than a few wash cycles. Decisions that the hotel obviously wouldn’t take because it would cost the hotel money instead of saving them money. Perhaps my disaffection is mostly because the signs are a perfect example of corporate bullshit; the exact sort of facade you would expect from a faceless corporation that will say anything to get your money.

emdubs 8y ago

Yep. The issue is most markets is due to regulation. If hotels can't meet the price and availability needs in a market then the issue is the regulation. For temporary events that is understandable, but continued restraint on hotels makes no sense.

behringer 8y ago
Which burdensome hotel regulations would you like to see removed?
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  Zoning.
  - behringer 8y ago
    You wouldn't mind if your next door neighbor was a seedy roach motel or a 10 story holiday inn? Somehow I doubt it.
    - sonnyblarney 8y ago
      10 story holiday inns are very professionally run, they have security etc. Why do you think a hotel would be worse quality than residential? I live in a mixed neighbourhood and many of my neighbours are already roach motels. Franky, in all my travels I've never come across the proverbial roach motel, or anything totally run down. My concern would not be the business or people - just parking. As long as there isn't a big parking lot, there's no reason why I couldn't be next to a short term residential unit, I don't think many people would have any problems at all.
      - behringer 8y ago
        So you want to regulate parking lots but not commercial and residential zoning? Makes sense.

RobPfeifer 8y ago

I think this is way oversimplifying things. Hotels and apartments are zoned differently and regulated and managed differently. There are negative externalities in apartment buildings for AirBNB hosts that are paid for by their neighbors. Zoning is designed (often poorly!) to do this on a neighborhood level, but not at all to do so on a building by building or apartment by apartment level. This is regulatory arbitrage for sure by AirBNB and hosts. The answer (theoretically) would be to more granularly undersrand the costs and benefits to all parties and redistribute appropriately. Unfortunately, neither the public or private sector is incentivized to solve this fairly - “competition” won’t solve it. Seems like a case where regulation would be the answer - it’s just unlikely any single city will solve it well, much less all of them.

sonnyblarney 8y ago
I really doubt the significance of the 'cost to the neighbour'. Really is this noise? Because I don't think that's a cost issue so much, nor do I feel hotels are particularly more quiet, or that AirBnB guests are particularly more noisy or rough on property. I think it's 80% an issue of artificial market distortion due to limitation. Cities need to rethink this. There is zero negative burden to my neighbourhood if the building I live in happened to be a hotel. It's time for a rethink.
- jib 8y ago
  I strongly disagree. In a hotel I can call the reception and get them to deal with noise pretty quickly. In an apartment I’m stuck with no quick recourse if a bunch of assholes use Airbnb to rent out a flat next door to have a weekend of boozing (thank you, group of 7 Irish lads that left a bunch of puke all over my outdoors last month).
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    Yes, but regular residents of such a building have the same recourse: i.e. none - and there's little to suggest that AirBnB are truly more raucous than not. For every 'noisey airbnb' you hear about, there are 1000x regular noisy neighours.