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Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

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Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#81

Post by BMorearty »

pmiller2 wrote: post #59
jmcgough wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it further reduces the number of homes available for people to actually live (which is why we have zoning laws), which inflates rent/housing prices. This forces the bottom rung out of the city, because they can't afford to live there, and now minimum wage jobs (which we need to run the services people want) can't be filled, artists and musicians disappear, and the city becomes a place only for tourists and th…

Not only that, but AirBnB prices for "whole apartment/house" listings are often not less than the price of a decent hotel room in the area! This makes them worse than useless in my view, except possibly for getting a last-minute accommodation.

A whole apartment/house does have some amenities that aren't in a decent hotel, though. Like a kitchen. Or enough beds for a group of 5. I appreciate those when traveling on a budget and/or with my family. - Airbnb employee.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#82

Post by smsm42 »

reza_n wrote: post #55
choxi wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a problem, or what problems has it been causing in NYC? I understand the legality is questionable but I don't know why the laws exist in the first place.

It converts long term housing stock into short term housing, which benefits tourists with cheaper prices and increases the price for residents since both are competing for the same units. Basically, tourists are getting a free ride on the backs of residents. Its always been the other way around, tourists pay extra taxes and fees which go back to the city (and residents) and entrepreneurs build hotels which once again…

I remember NY housing prices were not so friendly way before Airbnb. In fact, a number of sitcoms set in New York feature the topic prominently. Is there any data that Airbnb made the problem substantially worse?

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#83

Post by user5994461 »

coldtea wrote: post #56
user5994461 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that?

The experience of it happening in certain places where I live. Lots of nice places are now rented in AirBnB for what amounts to their old monthly rent but now asked for for a weekly rental or less.

That doesn't mean they are more lucrative.

Property can be empty half the time and Airbnb takes a massive commission on the earnings.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#84

Post by throwaway413 »

sisyphusprotege wrote: post #65
throwaway413 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's definitely killing it, that's for sure - owns none of them, simply partners with old, small apt complex owners that have extra units for rent. Spends all his time traveling the world while his "business partner" takes care of cleaning and maintenance.

If he owns nothing and provides so little value, I would bet its only a matter of time until he is cut out of the pie.

True - however, I think he specifically targets older, tech-illiterate owners of properties who wouldn't otherwise be on Airbnb, or less so. At least that's what I've gathered from my nosey observations.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#85

Post by santoshalper »

jmcgough wrote: post #38
choxi wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a problem, or what problems has it been causing in NYC? I understand the legality is questionable but I don't know why the laws exist in the first place.

Because it further reduces the number of homes available for people to actually live (which is why we have zoning laws), which inflates rent/housing prices. This forces the bottom rung out of the city, because they can't afford to live there, and now minimum wage jobs (which we need to run the services people want) can't be filled, artists and musicians disappear, and the city becomes a place only for tourists and th…

Did you know hotels take up space that could be used for housing as well? It's crazy, but I looked it up and it's true. Using urban space for hotels, stores, and other amenities absolutely reduces the number of housing units thus potentially driving up prices for renters.

In fact, this is a major factor in urban planning. Assuming that this is unique to AirBNB is poorly thought out.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#87

Post by [deleted] »

cabaalis wrote: post #74
sisyphusprotege wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the kind of pluck and industriousness that made this country great.

Thank you, somebody who gets it. "But my neighbors are complaining!" has somehow trumped "It's my property." in the modern age. If neighbors don't like what their neighborhood is becoming, they should move. Aside from homeowners group contracts, a person should be able to do as they wish with what they own. I'd bet that's the feeling of a good majority of people on this site regarding computer equipment and personal…

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#88

Post by gist »

reza_n wrote: post #55
choxi wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a problem, or what problems has it been causing in NYC? I understand the legality is questionable but I don't know why the laws exist in the first place.

It converts long term housing stock into short term housing, which benefits tourists with cheaper prices and increases the price for residents since both are competing for the same units. Basically, tourists are getting a free ride on the backs of residents. Its always been the other way around, tourists pay extra taxes and fees which go back to the city (and residents) and entrepreneurs build hotels which once again…

Exactly. And to further your point (in case it's not clear) tenants renting out on airbnb allows landlords to increase rent at the inconvenience of the tenant. So if a landlord allows this and the tenant gets extra income part of that extra income is passed on to the landlord as extra rent or the tenant finds a rent increase acceptable if they are able to rent out their unit.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#89

Post by santoshalper »

BMorearty wrote: post #81
pmiller2 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but AirBnB prices for "whole apartment/house" listings are often not less than the price of a decent hotel room in the area! This makes them worse than useless in my view, except possibly for getting a last-minute accommodation.

A whole apartment/house does have some amenities that aren't in a decent hotel, though. Like a kitchen. Or enough beds for a group of 5. I appreciate those when traveling on a budget and/or with my family. - Airbnb employee.

Of course, a hotel also has some amenities that an AirBNB rental does not, like cleaning up after you. But the price difference is often large enough that I'm willing to do my own laundry.

Re: Airbnb dominated by professional landlords

#90

Post by wepple »

santoshalper wrote: post #75
exogeny wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In NYC here as well; I think AirBNB is a pox. It's a great and useful product, I can't dispute that. But the economic ramifications of it outweigh the benefits by a large margin. And when you add on the unregulated latent racism (multiple reports, too lazy to cite) and the fact that there's next to zero safety checks in place for things like smoke detectors and so on, it's really sort of surprising that so many peopl…

Because, like Uber, for customers it is a massive improvement over the alternative. I am taking my family to Atlanta next week for my son's birthday. Using AirBNB (or equivalent service) saved me well over $1500 for the trip - we would have needed three hotel rooms but rented a house instead. As an added bonus, instead of all that money going to a large corporation, it will go to an individual. The level of myopia he…

> As an added bonus, instead of all that money going to a large corporation, it will go to an individual.

Give it a couple of years and professional landlords using AirBNB will look no different to a corporation.

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