Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law • Hacker News Board

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#251

Post by soperj » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:23 PM UTC

jessaustin wrote: post #227

soperj wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have 3 children, you have to rent two hotel rooms. Also when your kids bedtime is 7:30, having 1 room with two beds just sucks.

This really depends on the family. I had 3 siblings and we traveled a lot. When we no longer all fit on the same bed, I got a folded-up blanket on the floor. Eventually my sister decided she would rather have the floor. My brothers are awful to sleep with...

They normally force you to buy 2 rooms now, that didn't used to be the case.

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#252

Post by xab9 » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:26 PM UTC

To me it seems that AirBnB is cannibalizing its own business.

They are not interested in strong control over either users or landlords, for they need more and more users - but the laxer the rules are and the more people are using their service, the harder cities and residential areas will fight against it.

Probably an equilibrium could've been found not for the new and lawless startup culture fueled by their own hubris.

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#253

Post by sagarm » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:35 PM UTC

pmiller2 wrote: post #154

lechiffre10 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"AirBnB is already very strict with landlords: it needs to start being a lot stricter with its users too." It's not as strict with landlords as it should be. And while it is strict with users it actually favors landlords and by a landslide. Have you ever rented long term with AirBnB? Hosts can literally cancel the reservation for any reason( Airbnb says they punish for doing so but rarely if ever because the Host can…

The last few times I was tempted to use Airbnb for stays of around a week, I found the price to be comparable to hotels in the area. I ended up getting a hotel, because I wanted my stay to be managed by professionals.

Clearly not everyone wants the same thing out of AirBnb. I mostly prefer an AirBnb because it'll be a much nicer space, with a full kitchen, for a similar or lower price than a hotel.

I find the traditional double bed hotel rooms depressing now.

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#254

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:37 PM UTC

ozim wrote: post #250

pmiller2 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last few times I was tempted to use Airbnb for stays of around a week, I found the price to be comparable to hotels in the area. I ended up getting a hotel, because I wanted my stay to be managed by professionals.

That is a joke because why I would use AirBnB, to have cheap accomodation with kitchen. If the price is around the same as hotel I could not care more. Hotels have to follow a lot of regulations and guest is always right in a hotel. Wi fi not working well, I got upgrade to better room, airbnb host cannot upgrade your room to one with view or else.

It’s hard to upgrade out of other guests near you slamming the door in the morning as they leave though. Or recycled air shared with a hundred other people that can make you sick.

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#255

Post by uremog » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:37 PM UTC

wallace_f wrote: post #240

gwbas1c wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japan is much smaller than the US or the EU. IMO, there are certain advantages to regulating things at a higher level. It's easier for AirBNB to comply with one set of rules instead of many. An individual in Japan can take advantage of a single, well-written how-to guide instead of learning his or her local laws. That being said, where I live, I made sure the HOA explicitly forbids AirBNB-style rentals.

Well if that's the only issue, that would be obviously easy to solve. More clearly: I don't think you should make an app like this illegal. The burden should be on the property owners, not on AirBnB. Or why not? What other problems exist? In some supreme court cases, justices have argued 'while I do not agree that this should be legal, it should be up to the states to legislate, not the federal government.' The two m…

There was a look at local laws, and a lot of ordinances were passed re: home-sharing. I don't know why it transitioned to a national regulation.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/12/26/national/local-...

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#256

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:42 PM UTC

StavrosK wrote: post #137

Thriptic wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak to this problem in tourist destinations or Europe generally as I don't have enough data to have an opinion, but I frequently see Airbnb blamed for high housing costs in some American cities and it strikes me as being a bunch of bullshit. Sure Airbnb doesn't help the rental problem and it is a contributor to rising rents, but the primary problem isn't Airbnb, it's lack of supply of high density apartment…

The situation in Greece is very different, as everything is a highrise (sadly, because we tore down a lot of beautiful centuries-old antique villas to do that). The situation used to be much better, but the start of the problem coincides suspiciously with the rise of AirBnB, and you'd expect housing prices to drop in a recession, not rise. That's why I think it's fair to blame AirBnB for that. We'll see what happens…

They all but banned it in Berlin (only allowed to rent guest rooms where the owner resides in the place) years ago and last time I was there (last week) it was still well awash with tourists like myself.

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#257

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:45 PM UTC

xapata wrote: post #141

pjc50 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a progressive daily tax that's charged to every visitor Lots of places already have this as a "hotel tax" .. which AirBnb doesn't pay.

Not true. I've stayed in several places where an extra county-specific tax is imposed via AirBnB. There may be some places which haven't yet arranged for AirBnB to pay the tax, but it isn't because AirBnB refuses. In fact, it may be because hotels in that area are still holding out for the possibility of banning AirBnB. When AirBnB starts paying hotel taxes, it becomes nearly impossible to remove.

Venice, mentioned elsewhere in this thread as a problem city because of AirBnB, levies this tax against people who visit and stay in AirBnB

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#258

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:49 PM UTC

danudey wrote: post #176

indigochill wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Reykjavik "too many tourists" is very much a problem. Or more specifically, the ratio of tourists to available housing. Sure, there are solutions. There's a huge housing bubble right now (which will collapse whenever tourism dries up), for instance. Maybe if it keeps on this way some legislation will be passed to get it under control. But both of those solutions are completely out of the hands of the people who ac…

It's a huge problem in Vancouver, as well. There's a huge housing crisis here, and there's a lot of factors involved, but real estate speculation and short-term rentals are substantial contributors. There was a woman at a city council meeting a few years ago who lived in a building with around 10 units, and she said six of them were on AirBnB. When ever she checked, their (small) pool always had people in it she'd ne…

Didn’t Vancouver recently pass a big tax on houses that were not someone’s primary residence? Is that helping?

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#259

Post by lebanon_tn » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 9:56 PM UTC

JohnTHaller wrote: post #173

Fede_V wrote: post #102

I think this is an interesting and unintended consequence of AirBnB not investing nearly on filtering their users. AirBnB obviously was interested in getting their product used by as many people as people (growth at all costs) - but this had the effect of getting a lot of young, cost conscious people to take holidays in area that were traditionally residential. While most AirBnB renters are polite and respectful, eno…

"AirBnB is already very strict with landlords" Does AirBnB ensure that the landlord/owner is properly licensed to offer the property for a short term rental before listing it? Or do they just take the landlord's word for it? "While most AirBnB renters are polite and respectful, enough of them were loud, disruptive and ignoring the local rules (for example, tourists in Venice who use AirBnB but ignore the very strict…

Pardon my ignorance. What is the benefit / purpose of the license besides added revenue for whatever municipality the rental is in? Is there some kind of inspection or background check process?

Re: Nearly 80% of Japan’s Airbnbs removed in response to new home-share law

#260

Post by hrktb » Fri, Jun 08, 2018, 10:00 PM UTC

a_t48 wrote: post #50

That's a bit of a shame. I get where they are coming from, but the place in Ueno my girlfriend and I rented out was cute and we didn't hold any wild parties, even if I did get the evil eye from some old guy in a convenience store.

How did it go for the trash ? recycling rules ? balcony usage ? Did you check/pass the kanranban ?

Genuinely, resident building are so different from hotels I wonder how smooth it is for the residents to have random oversea people passing by even only 180 days a year, even if they are polite, well educated and well intended.