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AirBnB isn't highlighting a zoning problem; rather, it enables ordinary people to engage in frictionless regulation-skirting commerce. Incidentally, Uber does t
by temp-dude-87844 7y ago
AirBnB isn't highlighting a zoning problem; rather, it enables ordinary people to engage in frictionless regulation-skirting commerce. Incidentally, Uber does the same thing.
The problem with this is that it makes masses of lawbreakers out of normal people. When suddenly lots of people are breaking the law, and they're not easily treated as an outgroup, the incentives about enforcing the law get complicated.
- hapless 7y agoOnly a very small fraction of the people involved actually break the law, but those bad actors are a surprisingly large fraction of the total nights booked through AirBnB, so the company wishes to conceal and defend them. For instance, renting a room inside your home to visitors, while you continue to occupy the home, is perfectly legal almost everywhere. Often, there is little or no regulation to comply with. (For example, actual BnBs.) But many, many, many of AirBnB's rentals are illegal flophouses. Entire-apartment rentals inside established buildings, or flophouses with 2-4-6-8 bedrooms rented to unrelated strangers, with a maintenance service that comes by to turn down the beds. Those are where the money are at.