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As a family of two adults and 3 children we've very much appreciated being able to stay in places where we can cook for ourselves, be able to do laundry, and ha

As a family of two adults and 3 children we've very much appreciated being able to stay in places where we can cook for ourselves, be able to do laundry, and have space to spread out a bit. In the US, there are chains like Embassy Suites that work well for families because they have two bedrooms separated by a living/cooking area. The fact that they're typically far outside downtown matters a lot less because we've rented a car. In Europe, we usually didn't want to rent a car. Having 5 people was a problem with hotels because their typical limit was 4 people to a room. So being able to rent an apartment or house near downtown was wonderful. If you don't have kids, there's nothing quite like watching your 3 kids refuse to eat the $15/each meal that you ordered. Repeatedly. And have to resort to crackers or chips from a convenience store. It's going to be interesting to see what the outcome of the pandemic will be. We stayed on a house on a canal in Amsterdam and it was amazing. But you can see why the locals would want that house available to themselves.

analog31 6y ago
This is how my family prefers to travel too. Given our preferences for mountain hiking, we've found apartments to rent during the summer in ski resort towns. Those towns are already set up to handle that kind of rental, and we were doing it long before AirBnB was ever a thing. Also, longer term rentals made more sense. We could get up and leave at 6 AM for a day long hike without also having to take care of checking out of a hotel and packing our car first. I can't understand why anybody in their right mind would subject themselves to taking kids to a restaurant. Not only is the expensive food typically wasted, but it takes half of your waking hours getting them in and out of those accommodations.
Clampower 6y ago
It's nice that this is your preferred way to travel, but I live in Amsterdam and our city center is ravaged by tourists and the companies that profit off them. Enabling restrictions that limit overtourism, and that actively work to reverse the monoculture and disneyfication of our city are so incredibly important. Your ability to budget travel Europe with a family of five, due to your budget constrains, should not drastically raise rent and house prices. The center should belong to its residents. Not only do short term rentals like airbnb drive up the prices for regular rent and ownership, but they negatively affect everyone who does manage to afford a spot. Living in an apartment block with one or several airbnbs is awful, destroys the fabric of neighborhoods, and especially introduces plenty of loud guests who don't care about the neighbors within the block. Airbnb and similar platforms are exploitative of the environments that allow them. Your comfort to travel with a large family for cheap is not defendable against the negative impact on residents.
- silexia 6y ago
  The joy of a free market is that the people who value a resource most get to use it by virtue of being the highest bidder. Rules like this are simply NIMBYism, which is the true cause of high housing costs, racial segregation, and other social ills. Allow people who own the property the freedom to use it as they please and the ability to allow rent it to those who value it most.

analog31 6y ago

This is how my family prefers to travel too. Given our preferences for mountain hiking, we've found apartments to rent during the summer in ski resort towns. Those towns are already set up to handle that kind of rental, and we were doing it long before AirBnB was ever a thing. Also, longer term rentals made more sense. We could get up and leave at 6 AM for a day long hike without also having to take care of checking out of a hotel and packing our car first. I can't understand why anybody in their right mind would subject themselves to taking kids to a restaurant. Not only is the expensive food typically wasted, but it takes half of your waking hours getting them in and out of those accommodations.

Clampower 6y ago

It's nice that this is your preferred way to travel, but I live in Amsterdam and our city center is ravaged by tourists and the companies that profit off them. Enabling restrictions that limit overtourism, and that actively work to reverse the monoculture and disneyfication of our city are so incredibly important. Your ability to budget travel Europe with a family of five, due to your budget constrains, should not drastically raise rent and house prices. The center should belong to its residents. Not only do short term rentals like airbnb drive up the prices for regular rent and ownership, but they negatively affect everyone who does manage to afford a spot. Living in an apartment block with one or several airbnbs is awful, destroys the fabric of neighborhoods, and especially introduces plenty of loud guests who don't care about the neighbors within the block. Airbnb and similar platforms are exploitative of the environments that allow them. Your comfort to travel with a large family for cheap is not defendable against the negative impact on residents.

silexia 6y ago
The joy of a free market is that the people who value a resource most get to use it by virtue of being the highest bidder. Rules like this are simply NIMBYism, which is the true cause of high housing costs, racial segregation, and other social ills. Allow people who own the property the freedom to use it as they please and the ability to allow rent it to those who value it most.