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>"When laws protecting Taxi monopolies claim to be for consumer protection, nobody here buys it." If I rent a room from you, and stick my hand in your meat gri
by tatsuke95 14y ago
>"When laws protecting Taxi monopolies claim to be for consumer protection, nobody here buys it."
If I rent a room from you, and stick my hand in your meat grinder, who gets sued? Are you personally insured against such events? Is your landlord insured against temporary tenants?
These aren't unsolvable problems, but are why the laws exist as they do. The hotel pays money for insurance, which protects the consumer. Most AirBnB hosts don't, and that gives them a competitive advantage achieved by someone along the line breaking a law.
- jlgreco 14y agoI am not claiming that there are not legitimate issues with consumer protection to be considered. I merely find the idea that those laws which on the surface claim to be for that were drafted and enacted with that motivation to be incredibly unlikely. Hotel lobbyists and their politicians were not actually concerned for the consumer. They just claim that; what else could they possibly claim? If Walmart could figure out a way to make a law banning local businesses look like it was for consumer protection, they would attempt it in a heartbeat. Consumer protection is how you sell corporate protection laws.
- tatsuke95 14y agoPersonally, I find it no different than not being able to drive a car without insurance. That protects me and other drivers, and I don't think it's an "insurance lobby" agenda (although we battle with that too).
- jlgreco 14y agoFair point, but I think it is important to keep in mind that consumer protection laws often (Always? ..no, probably not always.) have ulterior motivation. We have to be willing to consider putting things called "consumer protection laws" on the chopping block. Calling these things "consumer protection laws" affords them more protection than they may be deserving of, because who doesn't like protecting consumers? It just sounds like a great thing to do. Calling your law a "consumer protection law" is (or rather, can be) basically a more advanced form of naming your law cleverly enough that it forms a "patriotic" acronym.
- natrius 14y agoThese laws don't require AirBnB hosts to purchase insurance. They outlaw renting out their homes. An argument based on the need for insurance doesn't justify the laws.
- tatsuke95 14y ago>"They outlaw renting out their homes" For what reason? I'm not engaged enough to do the work, but I bet the word "liability" comes up if you look into why these laws exist. My point is, that there is more to the story than greedy hoteliers.