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NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

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Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#71

Post by makmanalp »

callmeed wrote: post #68
makmanalp wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Cities that rely on tourism generate revenue from hotel "bed taxes" which are often higher or in addition to sales tax Too frickin' bad? I'm of the opinion that taxes should be in compensation for the service provided by the government. What service is being provided here? It makes me angry that just because someone is making money off of something that taxes must sharecrop off of it. As long as the host files th…

Do people who visit cities/counties for vacation/business trips not require services (indirectly)? Roads, beaches, parks, public restrooms, parking lots, etc. They all have to be maintained. Come to Pismo Beach (where I'm at) on any Summer weekend. 75%+ of the people on the beach are from out of town. Should I pay higher property taxes to pick up their beer bottles and pay for the extra police officers that need to b…

I guess that's a good point, I didn't think of situations like that. So maybe some extra tax is in fact in order. However, what about banning stays less than one month? Doesn't that smack of trying to get rid of competition?

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#72

Post by pavel_lishin »

natrius wrote: post #36
p3ll0n wrote: post #5

Interesting comment on related article by NYT that offers some insight into what type of behavior this bill may be aimed at curbing ... http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/bill-could-make...

I've actually rented a room in the place that comment is complaining about. Small world. I found it on craigslist before AirBnB even existed, so the building wasn't built just for the site. It may have been built for short-term rentals in general, but I doubt it. Toshi was working on the mezzanine level of the apartment while we were there, and there's a shower with a window out to the living room, which isn't partic…

> It was a way better experience than using a hotel. He actually double booked the room for a couple of the days, so he gave us a different apartment in Manhattan for those days.

How good would the experience be if he didn't have that second apartment?

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#73

Post by pavel_lishin »

blhack wrote: post #47
earl wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, try living with me. I live in Ashbury Heights in SF. Our next door neighbor runs a possibly illegal short stay hotel. It sucks ass -- this is a quiet residential neighborhood and he rents to either redneck trash that think it's appropriate to open their car windows, blast country music as loud as their stereos will go, and drink cheap beer on the sidewalk at 2 in the morning or to eurotrash who at least have th…

> I still have his drunk assholes peeing on our garden once a month. Get a dog.

Running electrified fencing is probably cheaper in the long run.

Although I guess it'll only solve the problem once per guest.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#74

Post by pavel_lishin »

sstrudeau wrote: post #70
fgf wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they could, they would ... Stringent health/safety standards actually do this already. There isn't anyone running small cafes from their kitchens in Manhattan, wich is a shame.

Actually, there are quite a few "underground supper clubs" in NYC. Typically, they're held in private apartments with a prix fixe menu. One article from March on this trend: http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/03/going-rogue-...

I cannot fucking wait to live in a city where not only does the concept of "underground supper club" exist, but where newspapers cover them.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#75

Post by loewenskind »

I've got an idea. Since the government is probably going to keep on giving existing players legislative help to keep competition out anyway maybe what we should do is pass an "Innovation stiflation act". That is, if you come to the government asking for a law to keep out your competitors then they assign an assessor (the same guy who values my house 40%" above what I could actually get for it) to evaluate how much revenue you're going to get by not having these competitors and we tax that money at, say, 80%.

If we're not going to get the benefit competition would bring at least we should get tax revenue out of it.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#76

Post by varjag »

fgf wrote: post #33
m0nastic wrote: post #28

Last week I rented a room for a week through airbnb.com at a place that is basically running a commercial hotel operation (as an aside, the place was great) while apartment hunting in NYC. While there, my girlfriend dug up a bunch of stories about the neighbors complaining about condo unit owners leasing out units to this place. I can understand both sides of the argument; if I'd just bought a condo in a building I w…

Having a steady stream of noisy neighbours is no different from having one. The solution is the same; hold whoever rents the apartment accountable. (This would be easier if throwing people out was.)

Uh no.

You can have a noisy neighbor, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make them reasonably quiet at night. Now, try doing that with the tourists who are in just for a couple of days and don't give a damn.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#77

Post by natrius »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #72
natrius wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually rented a room in the place that comment is complaining about. Small world. I found it on craigslist before AirBnB even existed, so the building wasn't built just for the site. It may have been built for short-term rentals in general, but I doubt it. Toshi was working on the mezzanine level of the apartment while we were there, and there's a shower with a window out to the living room, which isn't partic…

> It was a way better experience than using a hotel. He actually double booked the room for a couple of the days, so he gave us a different apartment in Manhattan for those days. How good would the experience be if he didn't have that second apartment?

It would've sucked. The double booking was an accident as far as I could tell, and that's not unheard of at normal hotels. I wasn't counting the chance of getting to stay in multiple places as a benefit of short-term rentals. It's negligible.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#78

Post by fgf »

varjag wrote: post #76
fgf wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a steady stream of noisy neighbours is no different from having one. The solution is the same; hold whoever rents the apartment accountable. (This would be easier if throwing people out was.)

Uh no. You can have a noisy neighbor, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make them reasonably quiet at night. Now, try doing that with the tourists who are in just for a couple of days and don't give a damn.

Uh yes.

You can have a neighbour who trough airbnb rents out to noisy tourists, go through a lengthy feud involving building administration and law enforcement, and finally make sure he makes sure it's reasonably quiet at night. If any changes in laws would be necessary to make these processes identical they should be smaller and less disruptive than an outright ban on activities like those of airbnbs lenders.

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#79

Post by patrickgzill »

callmeed wrote: post #68
makmanalp wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Cities that rely on tourism generate revenue from hotel "bed taxes" which are often higher or in addition to sales tax Too frickin' bad? I'm of the opinion that taxes should be in compensation for the service provided by the government. What service is being provided here? It makes me angry that just because someone is making money off of something that taxes must sharecrop off of it. As long as the host files th…

Do people who visit cities/counties for vacation/business trips not require services (indirectly)? Roads, beaches, parks, public restrooms, parking lots, etc. They all have to be maintained. Come to Pismo Beach (where I'm at) on any Summer weekend. 75%+ of the people on the beach are from out of town. Should I pay higher property taxes to pick up their beer bottles and pay for the extra police officers that need to b…

Don't the people who visit Pismo pay local taxes, provide local employment at restaurants, buy gas at the local gas station, etc?

Re: NY hotels trying to outlaw short-term home sublets (i.e. AirBnB)

#80

Post by Goronmon »

patrickgzill wrote: post #79
callmeed wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do people who visit cities/counties for vacation/business trips not require services (indirectly)? Roads, beaches, parks, public restrooms, parking lots, etc. They all have to be maintained. Come to Pismo Beach (where I'm at) on any Summer weekend. 75%+ of the people on the beach are from out of town. Should I pay higher property taxes to pick up their beer bottles and pay for the extra police officers that need to b…

Don't the people who visit Pismo pay local taxes, provide local employment at restaurants, buy gas at the local gas station, etc?

Or they bring a cooler full of food/beer along with a full tank of gas. Leave a mess and don't spent a dime in the area.
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