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As a digital nomad I live my life in AirBnBs (with the exception of the occasional hotel and housesit). Over the last 2 years I have stayed in ~20-30 AirBnBs in

by vertis 6y ago

As a digital nomad I live my life in AirBnBs (with the exception of the occasional hotel and housesit). Over the last 2 years I have stayed in ~20-30 AirBnBs in Asia and Europe (we were going to do the Americas this year...alas). Without AirBnB I don't know how we would be able to live as digital nomads. Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). I understand that we're not the normal tenants, we stay for weeks to months, recycle when possible and rarely if ever make any noise that would irritate other tenants. But I like to think we're not detrimental (I understand this is a little #NotAllMen). Interestingly, AirBnB is far from a perfect solution for us either (some of the AirBnBs we've stayed at have been absolutely shit). But one of the things the we value as digital nomads is living as the locals live (or as close as possible). Going to the supermarket, living outside the old town. As far a bad tenants go, before we left Australia we owned an apartment in a fairly average apartment block. There was a council flat within the block, and the tenant was nothing but trouble. Leaving rubbish and furniture around the property. Drinking to excess. Having raging arguments with associates. It does not take AirBnB to have problems with other parties within an apartment block. (None of this is necessarily negates what you say, just an interesting counter point) Edit: I would love to know why people are downvoting?

skullx 6y ago
I'm pretty sure there is a lot of options other than Hotels that would cover your needs, that existed long before Airbnb. Just to name a few you can stay in aparthotels , a common thing in almost every country, or you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner, instead of doing it through Airbnb. IMO Airbnb does more bad than good and transform centric areas of big cities in amusement park for the tourist.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  > you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner, instead of doing it through Airbnb AirBnB actually solves a lot of this problem, though. I can't imagine the difficulty of finding 20-30 different, independent, 1-month apartment stays directly with the apartment owners, dealing with security deposits and short-term leases, etc. They're a directory/marketplace/availability clearinghouse. They're an intermediary. They're a payment processor. They provide ratings and reviews. They provide some miniscule level of support. It might be the case that AirBnB is more bad than good, but I think it's at least a little unreasonable to suggest "you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner" for the digital nomad case.
  - barrkel 6y ago
    booking.com? This press release seems timely: https://www.hotelbusiness.com/booking-com-implements-long-term-stay-stay-rates/ https://www.hotelbusiness.com/booking-com-implements-long-te... It's easy enough to filter to self-catering apartments on booking.com. My partner and I generally stay self-catering wherever we go, we prefer the comfort of an apartment over the amenities that a hotel is able to provide.
    - sokoloff 6y ago
      I agree there are many other AirBnB competitors. If AirBnB went away 100% and these competitors stepped in to fill that gap, I'm not sure the neighborhood impact is reduced by much. I mean, I've rented on vrbo, homeaway, booking, expedia, and airbnb. Regardless of which platform I booked on, I'm the same tourist when I show up.
      - virgilp 6y ago
        I don't know anything about vrbo and homeaway, but booking and expedia do not eskew local tourism regulations, AFAIK. That's one of the problems with AirBnB.
- vertis 6y ago
  Yep that's true. Though I have stayed in some really bad aparthotels, that are just not livable when you stay in them for a month (tiny studios, with barely a kitchen). As far as renting from a regular owner, I think the hard thing about that is discovery.
- im3w1l 6y ago
  Imagine that you are moving every two months, and you need it down to a standardized process? Here's an example to try: Rent a furnished apartment in Washington DC from April 13th 2021 to June 17th 2021. This is trivial in Airbnb. How would you do it?
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  > just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner In a lot of countries the rental market is broken and prevents this. I've had this issue in the UK when I needed to move to London on very short notice after getting a job offer (and didn't have enough money saved up to afford a month's worth of hotel until I sort things out). I had enough money to pay a deposit and a couple months worth of rent, so all of that paid upfront plus the employment contract should be enough to make most landlords happy. The problem? The rental market around here seems monopolized by agencies and they all had referencing/application fees which means that even if I agree to pay the fee and take the risk of losing the fee if I get rejected I still wouldn't be able to get the flat quickly (my objective was to pay 2 months + deposit upfront and get the keys the same day). If I wanted to mitigate the risk of being rejected it would mean I need to apply to multiple properties at once, paying them a referencing fee to each (which I guess I'd lose if I back out even if I end up accepted). Airbnb took my money no questions asked and I had a place to sleep on the same day. I'm still in that place 3 years later (paying direct now obviously)! I hate Airbnb for other reasons, but there definitely is a need for a better short-term rental system.
bwb 6y ago
Well said, I am similar. Ive traveled and lived in airbnbs for a total of 3 years, ive always tried to be a good neighbor. I despise hotels and love what airbnb built. I hope they can figure out a middle ground to make this work.
- novok 6y ago
  As an experienced AirBNB customer, what do you do when a unit goes bad and your out in the street? Do you just eat the extra high cost of booking the same night somewhere else?
  - vertis 6y ago
    I don't think I've had one go bad so as to not have a bed for the night. Having one go bad 2 days before you arrive and having to rebook, or having one that is really bad that you just can't stay at any longer (and then yes, you eat the high cost). Doesn't happen too often though.
  - bwb 6y ago
    I've never had something go that bad. I had one experience where we walked away the next day and opened a support ticket due to misrepresentation and a landlord who was mentally unwell and scary. AirBNB dragged their feet a little but did refund us fully within 24 hours. In that case I just booked something new and it was all good. I've never had someone cancel on me on AirBNB.
virgilp 6y ago
You can do rentals, there are non-Airbnb rentals everywhere for periods of "months". > It does not take AirBnB to have problems with other parties within an apartment block. No but AirBnB exacerbates that - and adds a host of other problems too. > But one of the things the we value as digital nomads is living as the locals live (or as close as possible). But you're not, not really. Come on. Not in "weeks up to months", you need "months up to years" for that. >Edit: I would love to know why people are downvoting? (FWIW, I didn't).
- vertis 6y ago
  I agree with a lot of your points, AirBnB has just made it much more accessible (they're not alone just the point) Regarding living like the locals live, of course it's not exact. For example, knowing the language matter a lot, but it's a very different experience to staying in a Hotel in the middle of the old town. Many cities that get rave tourist reviews are not near as nice if you don't stay in the tourist quarter (for example).
lm28469 6y ago
You being nice and enjoying a service that is a pain in the ass for a loooot of people doesn't change the fact that it still is a pain in the ass for a lot of people. "digital nomad" issues are high on the list of first world problems too, the vast majority of people living next to these airbnbs can't afford to be digital nomad and escape their hell. Come to Berlin and our party airbnbs if you want a taste, bring an umbrella, condoms are literally raining from the sky around these. It's even worse now that clubs are closed due to covid.
- vertis 6y ago
  Being a digital nomad comes with plenty of first world problems, which I try not to complain about because I understand they are self-inflicted. Though its nowhere near as expensive as people seem to imagine (depending on your destination). My intent was just to share a little.
chinathrow 6y ago
> Without AirBnB I don't know how we would be able to live as digital nomads. Holiday home rentals have been around way longer than AirBnB, allthough I do admit that AirBnB makes the rental experience much easier. These days, lots of flats are still on other booking engines too such as Booking.com or HomeAway.
- vertis 6y ago
  Yep, though in the context of this article AirBnB is just the biggest target. The problems that people are complaining about (justly) are no different if the short-term rental offered on Booking.com.
q3k 6y ago
> I would love to know why people are downvoting? I didn't downvote, but your post seems to come from a place of privilege. It puts your comfortable, posh 'digital nomad' touristy lifestyle as something that is worth sacrificing others' lives for. Oh no, you might have to stay in a hotel or long-stay vacation home instead of a short-term rental. Imagine the discomfort. To me, if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish - after all, their way of life built the place you're visiting in the first place.
- vertis 6y ago
  That's some good context, and I am absolutely privileged to be able to travel, though it's not some unobtainable goal, it is very possible to keep to a budget similar to renting at home (in Australia). The important thing is actually to be able to work remotely, which has become much more common this year.
- kofejnik 6y ago
  don't speak for all locals, as some locals clearly wish to make money by airbnb-ing (also, the concept of privilege is overblown imo)
- MrPowers 6y ago
  I'm conflicted on this one and can see both sides. The "if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish" is a bit of a slippery slope. It's hard to understand the nuances of a culture. I've been living in Colombia for 5 years. It took me a couple years to understand the subtleties of Paisa Spanish and another year to really start understanding the culture. Visitors need years to understand what the locals want. And no, you can't simply ask them what they want... that doesn't work in indirect communication / "que pena" cultures. Flipping this around, I'm from New York and certainly don't want tourists to do what I want when they're in my home town. They can do whatever they want.
  - CaptainZapp 6y ago
    Japan, in a way, is a great counter example. As a gajin, no matter if tourist or foreign resident, you will never grasp the nuances of Japanese culture in detail. But you don't have to. You just need to understand and respect the basics. Be polite, respect customs, take your shoes of, when appropriate and you will feel welcome. It may be a lot harder if you live there and you'll probably never be really accepted. But not running into cultural disasters is fairly easy to avoid.
gherkinnn 6y ago
> But one of the things the we value as digital nomads is living as the locals live (or as close as possible). Nah, mate. Nomads living like locals is an oxymoron. It doesn’t come close. I wish Airbnb-ers would stop touting this. You haven’t seen restaurants come and go. You don’t know the intricacies of local culture and etiquette. If you do speak the language, you don’t speak the lingo. You have never fought with the local municipality over some triviality. You’ve never voted in local elections. There’s no investment from your side. You have no roots in that place. You have no part in that place’s soul and I doubt it has a place in yours. By definition it’s not your home. If anything, nomads displace people who do want to build a life there. __Edit__ RE immigrants. I see where that counterargument came from, it may indeed be a fine line. Though it is not what I intended to say. Do note the ”want to build a life there” part. My line of reasoning is more akin to creating the soul as opposed to leeching off of it.
- maximente 6y ago
  great point. virtually all AirBnb users espousing "want to live life like the locals" are basically using coded language for "don't want to stay with the 'other' tourists" - as if they are not tourists themselves. it may also mean that they don't want to pay the hotel prices they see, so in order to sustain their lifestyle financially, they'll find a cheaper place via Airbnb.
  - munchbunny 6y ago
    I think that's being uncharitable to travelers. That might be true for some tourists, but I believe there are plenty of travelers who have honest anthropological curiosity about the cultures of the places where they're visiting. And that's a good thing. The problem is that policy around short term rentals is agnostic to the renter's intentions. There's no real way I can think of to enforce "conscientious renters only" without also creating a system that gives too much leverage to badly intentioned hosts (for lack of a less context-specific word). So on the balance of considerations, and alongside all of the other effects that short stays have on communities, I'm mostly on the side of throwing this particular baby out with the bathwater.
dzonga 6y ago
they're suite hotels or what they call extended stays in america. that come with all those amenities. I used to be a proponent of airbnb but then noticed in NY how affordable housing all lost out due to airbnb. so yeah airbnb should be limited to maybe 2 weeks a year for a property.
- R0b0t1 6y ago
  A better limitation I saw was that the owner doing the BnB listings had to actually live in the property the majority of the year.
vondur 6y ago
It's not hard to understand. If permanent housing is taken off the market for AirBnB usage, then the supply of housing for locals is reduced, thereby increasing the cost. Also, I'm going to guess most AirBnb rentals aren't paying the rental tax that most hotels do. (At least here in the US it's common to have a hotel tax).
- vertis 6y ago
  Quite often, at least in Europe, the AirBnBs do charge the tourist/hotel tax, varies city to city.
everlost 6y ago
> It does not take AirBnB to have problems with other parties within an apartment block. This is important to note. AirBnB is not the "cause" of the problem, but seems to make it easier to cause the problem. Shouldn't they just increase the guest liability? I'm a strong proponent of "living like the locals" so hope that spirit of AirBnB does not fade away.
rsynnott 6y ago
> Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). You're looking for an aparthotel (generally purpose-built building with special planning designed for this use-case). Common in many European cities, at least.
- vertis 6y ago
  I've stayed at plenty of aparthotels, and they just do not compare to an actual apartment though.
  - rsynnott 6y ago
    Sure, but it's better for a hotel for your case, so it's an option if major cities succeed in abolishing holiday lets (which certainly seems plausible in the medium term).
salmonfamine 6y ago
"To be a mass tourist, for me, is to become a pure late-date American: alien, ignorant, greedy for something you cannot ever have, disappointed in a way you can never admit. It is to spoil, by way of sheer ontology, the very unspoiledness you are there to experience, It is to impose yourself on places that in all non-economic ways would be better, realer, without you. It is, in lines and gridlock and transaction after transaction, to confront a dimension of yourself that is as inescapable as it is painful: As a tourist, you become economically significant but existentially loathsome, an insect on a dead thing." The trap with AirBnb and urban STR's is the idea that you can live like a native, but the truth is you're not fooling anyone but yourself. -DFW
kmonsen 6y ago
I think this is of course fine, and if you stay for months there should be few issues you are introducing for other people in the buildings etc. The problem is that airbnb is not sustainable with just these "guests" (I mean is it sustainable at all?). So you are not paying the real price for this service, but are subsidized by they guests that are not wanted.
- vertis 6y ago
  I suspect we pay a higher price because of the competition for short term rentals in much the same way that it has an impact on rental and for-sale markets. Assuming it was still possible, without AirBnB we would likely be paying private rental rates on Craigslist/Gumtree. Both Christmas' and NYE so far we have not stayed in AirBnBs because we get priced out of the market (we have ended up house sitting instead)

by vertis 6y ago

skullx 6y ago

I'm pretty sure there is a lot of options other than Hotels that would cover your needs, that existed long before Airbnb. Just to name a few you can stay in aparthotels , a common thing in almost every country, or you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner, instead of doing it through Airbnb. IMO Airbnb does more bad than good and transform centric areas of big cities in amusement park for the tourist.

sokoloff 6y ago
> you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner, instead of doing it through Airbnb AirBnB actually solves a lot of this problem, though. I can't imagine the difficulty of finding 20-30 different, independent, 1-month apartment stays directly with the apartment owners, dealing with security deposits and short-term leases, etc. They're a directory/marketplace/availability clearinghouse. They're an intermediary. They're a payment processor. They provide ratings and reviews. They provide some miniscule level of support. It might be the case that AirBnB is more bad than good, but I think it's at least a little unreasonable to suggest "you can just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner" for the digital nomad case.
- barrkel 6y ago
  booking.com? This press release seems timely: https://www.hotelbusiness.com/booking-com-implements-long-term-stay-stay-rates/ https://www.hotelbusiness.com/booking-com-implements-long-te... It's easy enough to filter to self-catering apartments on booking.com. My partner and I generally stay self-catering wherever we go, we prefer the comfort of an apartment over the amenities that a hotel is able to provide.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    I agree there are many other AirBnB competitors. If AirBnB went away 100% and these competitors stepped in to fill that gap, I'm not sure the neighborhood impact is reduced by much. I mean, I've rented on vrbo, homeaway, booking, expedia, and airbnb. Regardless of which platform I booked on, I'm the same tourist when I show up.
    - virgilp 6y ago
      I don't know anything about vrbo and homeaway, but booking and expedia do not eskew local tourism regulations, AFAIK. That's one of the problems with AirBnB.
vertis 6y ago
Yep that's true. Though I have stayed in some really bad aparthotels, that are just not livable when you stay in them for a month (tiny studios, with barely a kitchen). As far as renting from a regular owner, I think the hard thing about that is discovery.
im3w1l 6y ago
Imagine that you are moving every two months, and you need it down to a standardized process? Here's an example to try: Rent a furnished apartment in Washington DC from April 13th 2021 to June 17th 2021. This is trivial in Airbnb. How would you do it?
Nextgrid 6y ago
> just rent a regular apartment directly with the owner In a lot of countries the rental market is broken and prevents this. I've had this issue in the UK when I needed to move to London on very short notice after getting a job offer (and didn't have enough money saved up to afford a month's worth of hotel until I sort things out). I had enough money to pay a deposit and a couple months worth of rent, so all of that paid upfront plus the employment contract should be enough to make most landlords happy. The problem? The rental market around here seems monopolized by agencies and they all had referencing/application fees which means that even if I agree to pay the fee and take the risk of losing the fee if I get rejected I still wouldn't be able to get the flat quickly (my objective was to pay 2 months + deposit upfront and get the keys the same day). If I wanted to mitigate the risk of being rejected it would mean I need to apply to multiple properties at once, paying them a referencing fee to each (which I guess I'd lose if I back out even if I end up accepted). Airbnb took my money no questions asked and I had a place to sleep on the same day. I'm still in that place 3 years later (paying direct now obviously)! I hate Airbnb for other reasons, but there definitely is a need for a better short-term rental system.

bwb 6y ago

Well said, I am similar. Ive traveled and lived in airbnbs for a total of 3 years, ive always tried to be a good neighbor. I despise hotels and love what airbnb built. I hope they can figure out a middle ground to make this work.

novok 6y ago
As an experienced AirBNB customer, what do you do when a unit goes bad and your out in the street? Do you just eat the extra high cost of booking the same night somewhere else?
- vertis 6y ago
  I don't think I've had one go bad so as to not have a bed for the night. Having one go bad 2 days before you arrive and having to rebook, or having one that is really bad that you just can't stay at any longer (and then yes, you eat the high cost). Doesn't happen too often though.
- bwb 6y ago
  I've never had something go that bad. I had one experience where we walked away the next day and opened a support ticket due to misrepresentation and a landlord who was mentally unwell and scary. AirBNB dragged their feet a little but did refund us fully within 24 hours. In that case I just booked something new and it was all good. I've never had someone cancel on me on AirBNB.

virgilp 6y ago

You can do rentals, there are non-Airbnb rentals everywhere for periods of "months". > It does not take AirBnB to have problems with other parties within an apartment block. No but AirBnB exacerbates that - and adds a host of other problems too. > But one of the things the we value as digital nomads is living as the locals live (or as close as possible). But you're not, not really. Come on. Not in "weeks up to months", you need "months up to years" for that. >Edit: I would love to know why people are downvoting? (FWIW, I didn't).

vertis 6y ago
I agree with a lot of your points, AirBnB has just made it much more accessible (they're not alone just the point) Regarding living like the locals live, of course it's not exact. For example, knowing the language matter a lot, but it's a very different experience to staying in a Hotel in the middle of the old town. Many cities that get rave tourist reviews are not near as nice if you don't stay in the tourist quarter (for example).

lm28469 6y ago

You being nice and enjoying a service that is a pain in the ass for a loooot of people doesn't change the fact that it still is a pain in the ass for a lot of people. "digital nomad" issues are high on the list of first world problems too, the vast majority of people living next to these airbnbs can't afford to be digital nomad and escape their hell. Come to Berlin and our party airbnbs if you want a taste, bring an umbrella, condoms are literally raining from the sky around these. It's even worse now that clubs are closed due to covid.

vertis 6y ago
Being a digital nomad comes with plenty of first world problems, which I try not to complain about because I understand they are self-inflicted. Though its nowhere near as expensive as people seem to imagine (depending on your destination). My intent was just to share a little.

chinathrow 6y ago

> Without AirBnB I don't know how we would be able to live as digital nomads. Holiday home rentals have been around way longer than AirBnB, allthough I do admit that AirBnB makes the rental experience much easier. These days, lots of flats are still on other booking engines too such as Booking.com or HomeAway.

vertis 6y ago
Yep, though in the context of this article AirBnB is just the biggest target. The problems that people are complaining about (justly) are no different if the short-term rental offered on Booking.com.

q3k 6y ago

> I would love to know why people are downvoting? I didn't downvote, but your post seems to come from a place of privilege. It puts your comfortable, posh 'digital nomad' touristy lifestyle as something that is worth sacrificing others' lives for. Oh no, you might have to stay in a hotel or long-stay vacation home instead of a short-term rental. Imagine the discomfort. To me, if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish - after all, their way of life built the place you're visiting in the first place.

vertis 6y ago
That's some good context, and I am absolutely privileged to be able to travel, though it's not some unobtainable goal, it is very possible to keep to a budget similar to renting at home (in Australia). The important thing is actually to be able to work remotely, which has become much more common this year.
kofejnik 6y ago
don't speak for all locals, as some locals clearly wish to make money by airbnb-ing (also, the concept of privilege is overblown imo)
MrPowers 6y ago
I'm conflicted on this one and can see both sides. The "if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish" is a bit of a slippery slope. It's hard to understand the nuances of a culture. I've been living in Colombia for 5 years. It took me a couple years to understand the subtleties of Paisa Spanish and another year to really start understanding the culture. Visitors need years to understand what the locals want. And no, you can't simply ask them what they want... that doesn't work in indirect communication / "que pena" cultures. Flipping this around, I'm from New York and certainly don't want tourists to do what I want when they're in my home town. They can do whatever they want.
- CaptainZapp 6y ago
  Japan, in a way, is a great counter example. As a gajin, no matter if tourist or foreign resident, you will never grasp the nuances of Japanese culture in detail. But you don't have to. You just need to understand and respect the basics. Be polite, respect customs, take your shoes of, when appropriate and you will feel welcome. It may be a lot harder if you live there and you'll probably never be really accepted. But not running into cultural disasters is fairly easy to avoid.

gherkinnn 6y ago

> But one of the things the we value as digital nomads is living as the locals live (or as close as possible). Nah, mate. Nomads living like locals is an oxymoron. It doesn’t come close. I wish Airbnb-ers would stop touting this. You haven’t seen restaurants come and go. You don’t know the intricacies of local culture and etiquette. If you do speak the language, you don’t speak the lingo. You have never fought with the local municipality over some triviality. You’ve never voted in local elections. There’s no investment from your side. You have no roots in that place. You have no part in that place’s soul and I doubt it has a place in yours. By definition it’s not your home. If anything, nomads displace people who do want to build a life there. __Edit__ RE immigrants. I see where that counterargument came from, it may indeed be a fine line. Though it is not what I intended to say. Do note the ”want to build a life there” part. My line of reasoning is more akin to creating the soul as opposed to leeching off of it.

maximente 6y ago
great point. virtually all AirBnb users espousing "want to live life like the locals" are basically using coded language for "don't want to stay with the 'other' tourists" - as if they are not tourists themselves. it may also mean that they don't want to pay the hotel prices they see, so in order to sustain their lifestyle financially, they'll find a cheaper place via Airbnb.
- munchbunny 6y ago
  I think that's being uncharitable to travelers. That might be true for some tourists, but I believe there are plenty of travelers who have honest anthropological curiosity about the cultures of the places where they're visiting. And that's a good thing. The problem is that policy around short term rentals is agnostic to the renter's intentions. There's no real way I can think of to enforce "conscientious renters only" without also creating a system that gives too much leverage to badly intentioned hosts (for lack of a less context-specific word). So on the balance of considerations, and alongside all of the other effects that short stays have on communities, I'm mostly on the side of throwing this particular baby out with the bathwater.

dzonga 6y ago

they're suite hotels or what they call extended stays in america. that come with all those amenities. I used to be a proponent of airbnb but then noticed in NY how affordable housing all lost out due to airbnb. so yeah airbnb should be limited to maybe 2 weeks a year for a property.

R0b0t1 6y ago
A better limitation I saw was that the owner doing the BnB listings had to actually live in the property the majority of the year.

vondur 6y ago

It's not hard to understand. If permanent housing is taken off the market for AirBnB usage, then the supply of housing for locals is reduced, thereby increasing the cost. Also, I'm going to guess most AirBnb rentals aren't paying the rental tax that most hotels do. (At least here in the US it's common to have a hotel tax).

vertis 6y ago
Quite often, at least in Europe, the AirBnBs do charge the tourist/hotel tax, varies city to city.

everlost 6y ago

> It does not take AirBnB to have problems with other parties within an apartment block. This is important to note. AirBnB is not the "cause" of the problem, but seems to make it easier to cause the problem. Shouldn't they just increase the guest liability? I'm a strong proponent of "living like the locals" so hope that spirit of AirBnB does not fade away.

rsynnott 6y ago

> Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). You're looking for an aparthotel (generally purpose-built building with special planning designed for this use-case). Common in many European cities, at least.

vertis 6y ago
I've stayed at plenty of aparthotels, and they just do not compare to an actual apartment though.
- rsynnott 6y ago
  Sure, but it's better for a hotel for your case, so it's an option if major cities succeed in abolishing holiday lets (which certainly seems plausible in the medium term).

salmonfamine 6y ago

"To be a mass tourist, for me, is to become a pure late-date American: alien, ignorant, greedy for something you cannot ever have, disappointed in a way you can never admit. It is to spoil, by way of sheer ontology, the very unspoiledness you are there to experience, It is to impose yourself on places that in all non-economic ways would be better, realer, without you. It is, in lines and gridlock and transaction after transaction, to confront a dimension of yourself that is as inescapable as it is painful: As a tourist, you become economically significant but existentially loathsome, an insect on a dead thing." The trap with AirBnb and urban STR's is the idea that you can live like a native, but the truth is you're not fooling anyone but yourself. -DFW

kmonsen 6y ago

I think this is of course fine, and if you stay for months there should be few issues you are introducing for other people in the buildings etc. The problem is that airbnb is not sustainable with just these "guests" (I mean is it sustainable at all?). So you are not paying the real price for this service, but are subsidized by they guests that are not wanted.

vertis 6y ago
I suspect we pay a higher price because of the competition for short term rentals in much the same way that it has an impact on rental and for-sale markets. Assuming it was still possible, without AirBnB we would likely be paying private rental rates on Craigslist/Gumtree. Both Christmas' and NYE so far we have not stayed in AirBnBs because we get priced out of the market (we have ended up house sitting instead)