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If only there was some regulation for such services that would require some sort of standard. You know some sort of licensing by the state. /s This is what you
by sschueller 4y ago
If only there was some regulation for such services that would require some sort of standard. You know some sort of licensing by the state. /s
This is what you get when you skirt laws, artificially lowering prices to kill competition and exploit workers. Stop complaining, it's your own doing for supporting this type of economy. Only because maybe some of those existing laws were cumbersome or outdated doesn't mean you just go around all of them.
- ethbr0 4y agoIt seems to work better with Lyft et al., probably because there's a larger supply of "normal people who are interested in driving", better economics around renting the asset (vehicle), and the driver (aka host) having to be physically present in the vehicle. The scaled AirBnB model was always questionable... at some point, you've literally signed up everyone normal with a quality rental. But you still need to increase supply, which means taking what new hosts/properties you can get. Did AirBnB ever fool with the McDonald's model? I.e. own the property/land, but provide financing to hosts who want to manage and work it? The economics on that might work out in certain areas, if they were smart about it. And it would directly target the "increase quality supply directly" problem.
- profstasiak 4y agoa lot of rape cases in Uber and Bolt in Warsaw Poland. Safe for men to drive unsafe for women.
- therealdrag0 4y agoIs that different than a normal taxi? If anything a lot of people find ride shares more safe because you have a digital record of the drivers identity which historically wasn’t the case with taxis.
- vertis 4y agoArtificially lowering prices? You mean basic supply and demand? The regulations aren't guests responsibility the hosts and airbnb should be compliant. AirBnB and competitors are very important despite their flaws. Standard rentals are too inflexible for long term (month long) travellers and the hotel industry is either too expensive or not designed for long term stays. As a digital nomad, I've had my share of bad accommodation (and really really good ones as well). Usually I just write them off and leave early, or identify stuff within the first day, that's very important. If you think you're going to be unhappy with the product you have to back out quickly. False information or problems at the start of the accommodation, like broken items, are a deal breaker. This has been quite rare, and it might be the hundreds and hundreds of nights of stays but the two times I've had to contact AirBnB support it's gone in my favour (that's not to minimise the experience of the OP). More often the bad experiences with AirBnBs are more subtle. Items that are just not comfortable or kitchens that don't really have what you need to cook. Of the 65 hosts I've stayed with, 2 were bad enough to leave (as mentioned), and probably 2-3 more were the suffer through variety. That's not a bad percentage really.
- short_sells_poo 4y agoThe issue is that the service that you as a digital nomad enjoy turns the life of permanent residents into misery. Unregulated, private short term rentals are a blight upon cities. Is this a price worth paying for the convenience of vacationers/nomads? There's nothing wrong with AirBnb in principle, but I strongly suspect if they were properly regulated and actually carried out the necessary checks, provided an adequate level of guarantees and service, suddenly their business model would be much less viable. In effect, AirBnb externalizes the cost of their business to local residents and authorities, but they harvest the profits. They are not the only industry operating under such framework of course.
- vertis 4y agoIt's always a complicated issue. Depending on the city/region, tourists can be the life blood. More than a few places that I've visited you're a welcome addition to the local ecosystem, bringing much needed revenue. There is always a healthy layer of NIMBY, I want to be a tourist but I don't want tourists to come where I live. Sure, they should be regulated, and in many places in Europe they are regulated. Any business/housing has the potential to be bad for neighbours, which is why we have zoning and planning laws. Bars and nightclubs, industrial businesses, apartment buildings. Short term rentals are no different, rules and taxes should apply. Fines should be imposed for rowdy party behaviour (which is one of the more negative aspects of short-term rentals).
- elforce002 4y agoGuilty as charged. I saw this and went back to use hotels ans resorts (they employ thousands and help local economy).
- vertis 4y agoAirBnBs tend to employ people as well (cleaning, maintenannce, administration). With many hotels the money is actually flowing out of the local community as the business is owned by a big multi-national. It's not really so cut and dried in favour of hotels.