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Can you elaborate on how you were negatively impacted? I haven't seen any first-hand accounts of actual negative impacts yet, just people speculating about thin

by ufmace 12y ago

Can you elaborate on how you were negatively impacted? I haven't seen any first-hand accounts of actual negative impacts yet, just people speculating about things that might or could happen.

dominotw 12y ago
There is a discussion about this every month on HN. Here is the last one, many first hand accounts https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849
- notlisted 12y ago
  That top post was my first-hand account (and it's all true, so glad I left) but... let's not focus on the small picture of safety/quality of life. The BIG picture is general cost of living in all major metropolitan areas where AirBnB has made in-roads. Fewer apartments/rooms available result in higher rents. This has been noticed all over the world (Amsterdam, Berlin, NYC, San Francisco). While I like the the basic concept of AirBnB (let no resource go to waste) the skirting existing rules/regulations which are in place for a good reason simply has to stop. With regards to the AirBnB post in question, my best guess is that the DA has decided to require details on those properties which indicate actual illegal hotels. The most likely scenario for 'innocent' hosts is that they will need a permit, like Berlin, and in the process of applying for one, they will be vetted appropriately. A recent CNet article outlines issues in cities other than NYC [1]. [1] http://www.cnet.com/news/vexed-in-the-city-the-sharing-economys-hidden-toll-on-san-francisco/ http://www.cnet.com/news/vexed-in-the-city-the-sharing-econo...
  - mr_spothawk 12y ago
    > general cost of living in all major metropolitan areas where AirBnB has made in-roads could you also make the counter-argument: the hotels are keeping prices for rental artificially high by having unused (presumably unrented, or else airBnB would not have such high demand) space they're unwilling to lower their price for.
    - notlisted 12y ago
      I can guarantee you this is very rarely the case for hotels. Like airplane seats, the room is there, the show must go on (ie the hotel cannot close), and the room costs X whether it's filled or not. If the room is not occupied, they miss out. This explains also why companies like HotelTonight (and Priceline bidding option) have such great last-minute deals. Hotels maximize occupancy by making remaining inventory available last-minute at reduced rates (without that rate being published). By the way, AirBnB's demand, according to Mr YCombo, is driven by 'the experience' vs 'the price' (but I doubt that). In NYC, the 15% hotel tax that is skipped, plus getting away with non-payment of income taxes on AirBnB revenue, plus avoiding regulations for hotel safety allows hosts to make AirBnB rooms cheaper.
  - rahimnathwani 12y ago
    I understand that both NYC and San Francisco have rent control (either fixed rents or a maximum annual % increase), at least for some portion of the housing stock. It seems like rent control creates consumer surplus for renters, at the expense of landlords. The use of AirBnB transfers some of this consumer surplus from the original renter to the temporary guest. So, the combination of rent control and AirBnB-style short term rentals takes money from landlords (by restricting their return on capital to below the market level) and shares it between tenants (who become middlemen) and guests. In cities without rent control, does AirBnB thrive to the same extent?
    - wdewind 12y ago
      > It seems like rent control creates consumer surplus for renters, at the expense of landlords. The use of AirBnB transfers some of this consumer surplus from the original renter to the temporary guest. We can obviously agree AirBnB is not the way to address this potential issue. > In cities without rent control, does AirBnB thrive to the same extent? I'd wager that less than 1% of AirBnBs are in rent controlled apartments in NYC. I'm sure rent control has a minor systemic effect, but rent control arbitrage is not the story here.
wdewind 12y ago
The link dominotw shared is similar to my experience, but the short version is: 1. Destroyed building property (front door/lock, doorbells, hallways and elevator) 2. Late night parties/music on the roof stopping me from sleeping on weekdays
jawns 12y ago
I was recently browsing through New York AirBnB listings, and one in particular caught my eye. The guy who was renting out his place gave very stern instructions to renters. It was basically: I'll meet you out on the street corner and let you into the apartment. DO NOT stand directly outside the lobby. DO NOT talk to anybody else in the apartment building. If anybody else in the apartment building talks to you, DO NOT answer. I have a few guesses as to why he wants everything to remain secretive. When you have a semi-regular or regular stream of strangers going in and out of a neighbor's apartment, it's at best shady-looking and at worst a complete nuisance.
uptown 12y ago
This incident was discussed here a while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796
elecengin 12y ago
The apartment next to mine is an AirBnB "hotel" - continuously rented with no permanent tenant. The cops have come repeatedly to investigate, but the process to evict the "tenant" is slow. I have dealt with: * Very loud guests hosting parties in the (small studio) apartment * Guests loud in the hallways at 1-2am (screaming, drunk, etc) * Guests ignoring fire alarms until other tenants call emergency services for them. It really is horrible. AirBnB does nothing when contacted.

by ufmace 12y ago

Can you elaborate on how you were negatively impacted? I haven't seen any first-hand accounts of actual negative impacts yet, just people speculating about things that might or could happen.

dominotw 12y ago

There is a discussion about this every month on HN. Here is the last one, many first hand accounts https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7923849

notlisted 12y ago
That top post was my first-hand account (and it's all true, so glad I left) but... let's not focus on the small picture of safety/quality of life. The BIG picture is general cost of living in all major metropolitan areas where AirBnB has made in-roads. Fewer apartments/rooms available result in higher rents. This has been noticed all over the world (Amsterdam, Berlin, NYC, San Francisco). While I like the the basic concept of AirBnB (let no resource go to waste) the skirting existing rules/regulations which are in place for a good reason simply has to stop. With regards to the AirBnB post in question, my best guess is that the DA has decided to require details on those properties which indicate actual illegal hotels. The most likely scenario for 'innocent' hosts is that they will need a permit, like Berlin, and in the process of applying for one, they will be vetted appropriately. A recent CNet article outlines issues in cities other than NYC [1]. [1] http://www.cnet.com/news/vexed-in-the-city-the-sharing-economys-hidden-toll-on-san-francisco/ http://www.cnet.com/news/vexed-in-the-city-the-sharing-econo...
- mr_spothawk 12y ago
  > general cost of living in all major metropolitan areas where AirBnB has made in-roads could you also make the counter-argument: the hotels are keeping prices for rental artificially high by having unused (presumably unrented, or else airBnB would not have such high demand) space they're unwilling to lower their price for.
  - notlisted 12y ago
    I can guarantee you this is very rarely the case for hotels. Like airplane seats, the room is there, the show must go on (ie the hotel cannot close), and the room costs X whether it's filled or not. If the room is not occupied, they miss out. This explains also why companies like HotelTonight (and Priceline bidding option) have such great last-minute deals. Hotels maximize occupancy by making remaining inventory available last-minute at reduced rates (without that rate being published). By the way, AirBnB's demand, according to Mr YCombo, is driven by 'the experience' vs 'the price' (but I doubt that). In NYC, the 15% hotel tax that is skipped, plus getting away with non-payment of income taxes on AirBnB revenue, plus avoiding regulations for hotel safety allows hosts to make AirBnB rooms cheaper.
- rahimnathwani 12y ago
  I understand that both NYC and San Francisco have rent control (either fixed rents or a maximum annual % increase), at least for some portion of the housing stock. It seems like rent control creates consumer surplus for renters, at the expense of landlords. The use of AirBnB transfers some of this consumer surplus from the original renter to the temporary guest. So, the combination of rent control and AirBnB-style short term rentals takes money from landlords (by restricting their return on capital to below the market level) and shares it between tenants (who become middlemen) and guests. In cities without rent control, does AirBnB thrive to the same extent?
  - wdewind 12y ago
    > It seems like rent control creates consumer surplus for renters, at the expense of landlords. The use of AirBnB transfers some of this consumer surplus from the original renter to the temporary guest. We can obviously agree AirBnB is not the way to address this potential issue. > In cities without rent control, does AirBnB thrive to the same extent? I'd wager that less than 1% of AirBnBs are in rent controlled apartments in NYC. I'm sure rent control has a minor systemic effect, but rent control arbitrage is not the story here.

wdewind 12y ago

The link dominotw shared is similar to my experience, but the short version is: 1. Destroyed building property (front door/lock, doorbells, hallways and elevator) 2. Late night parties/music on the roof stopping me from sleeping on weekdays

jawns 12y ago

I was recently browsing through New York AirBnB listings, and one in particular caught my eye. The guy who was renting out his place gave very stern instructions to renters. It was basically: I'll meet you out on the street corner and let you into the apartment. DO NOT stand directly outside the lobby. DO NOT talk to anybody else in the apartment building. If anybody else in the apartment building talks to you, DO NOT answer. I have a few guesses as to why he wants everything to remain secretive. When you have a semi-regular or regular stream of strangers going in and out of a neighbor's apartment, it's at best shady-looking and at worst a complete nuisance.

uptown 12y ago

This incident was discussed here a while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796

elecengin 12y ago

The apartment next to mine is an AirBnB "hotel" - continuously rented with no permanent tenant. The cops have come repeatedly to investigate, but the process to evict the "tenant" is slow. I have dealt with: * Very loud guests hosting parties in the (small studio) apartment * Guests loud in the hallways at 1-2am (screaming, drunk, etc) * Guests ignoring fire alarms until other tenants call emergency services for them. It really is horrible. AirBnB does nothing when contacted.