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Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

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Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#191

Post by alistairSH »

gamblor956 wrote: post #161
praneshp wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> , we had a limit on how many units could rent out at once anyway so they never were going to have enough numbers What does this mean? If I owned a house in your neighborhood and had to move away for work, my options are to sell the house, or get on a waitlist till the number of houses rented out reduces? As someone that's never owned a house, that sounds like a shitty rule that should be disrupted. I'm assuming the…

As someone that's never owned a house, that sounds like a shitty rule that should be disrupted. I'm assuming there is a positive side to that only homeowners can see. For starters, several federal agencies actually require COA's to limit the number of units that are not owner-occupied as a condition for government-backed mortgages. Some states and local laws also place caps on this to prevent condos from being used a…

Or, the other option... don't buy property that has these rules in place and you'll never have the problem. It's not like these rules pop up randomly - you have to sign condo/HOA docs as part of the closing process.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#192

Post by Obsnold »

I used to live in a flat where I was the only permanent resident on the floor and the rest were Airbnbs. My life was hell while I lived there. I don't think most people realise what a massive negative impact these places have on the people living near by. Even if you are a good guest you may not think you are having a negative impact but you are.

I think tourists have to understand that when they use Airbnb they are giving a massive middle finger to the locals. You do not have a right to a cheap holiday and it should not come at the expense of those just trying to live their lives.

This was in Hong Kong if anyone was wondering so all the America specific issues don't apply.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#193

Post by Giorgi »

duxup wrote: post #26

I lived a few doors down to someone who basically ran an ad hoc AirBnB ... before Airbnb. It was pretty terrible. Parties all the time, trash, they parked anywhere (in other people's driveways...) because there were likely no long term consequences for doing so, the folks staying there didn't care because why should they? I was on the association board, it's kinda thankless job as we had to deal with this house. We g…

Yeah! how dare for normal people to make money! Local governments should rule over them!

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#194

Post by dragonwriter »

nradov wrote: post #187
dcosson wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "positive side" for the homeowners is pretty obvious - it lets them keep anyone that's not one of them out of the neighborhood. I don't know the specifics of this particular neighborhood, but if it's anything like the vast majority of America, it likely is a very shitty rule that should be disrupted.

HOAs don't block purchases by particular people. There's no need for disruption here.

> HOAs don't block purchases by particular people

HOAs no longer are able to do that directly (even though naked racial discrimination was actually central to the original purpose of HOAs and the covenants which give life to them), but they continue to enforce cultural standards that are designed particularly to enforce the behavior preferred by a particular subculture and exclude others.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#195

Post by turc1656 »

Xylakant wrote: post #168
turc1656 wrote: post #145

Any time anyone says they "want to pay taxes", you know they are lying. No one anywhere wants to pay - no one looks forward to it. Not that I'm a fan of big government, but I don't understand why, if they really are just ignoring the law in most jurisdictions (which they are), none of these states just issue arrest warrants for the people in charge of these decisions? Why isn't there an outstanding warrant for the CE…

I, as an individual want to lay taxes and I want them to be put to good use. I also think my income bracket pays too little taxes. I want a thriving, stable society and I’m well aware on an intellectual level that if faced with the constant decision whether I should donate here or donate there or pay more for child-care so that they can subsidize people with less income, I’ll become overwhelmed and fail. I already fa…

"make me pay taxes, but make everyone else pay theirs" If you want to pay, as you stated, no one needs to force you. That was the point of my original statement. It sounds like you approve, in general, of the tax structure and the manner in which money is spent - which is totally fine. But no one needs to make you do anything that you already claim to want to do. To be clear, it sounds like you want what the taxes pay for and that's entirely different than wanting to pay. Paying is just a reality that we have to with. When I go to a restaurant, I want the food. I don't want to pay, it's just a requirement of obtaining what I desire. If for some reason the restaurant told me my meal was free, I would never be like "oh, no no. I want to pay you for this meal".

If you really want to pay taxes and feel the tax rate for your bracket is too low, you are more than welcome to make a donation to the treasury at any time: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/23779454

You can also skip claiming deductions on your tax return to increase your liability and reduce/eliminate your refund (assuming you get one). This also eliminates the stress related to the end of year donations you mentioned.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#196

Post by uwuhn »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #135
Tsubasachan wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AirBNB ain't disrupting shit. Flop houses and illegal hotels have existed before. Silicon Valley doesn't do history ofcourse so they think that it is all new. As you say the laws to destroy them already exist, all it takes is the effort to use it.

I don't think AirBnB remotely fits the notion of a 'flophouse.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flophouse

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23131937

10 people per room.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#197

Post by jimmaswell »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #176
jimmaswell wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this crowd suddenly all for restrictive zoning when it comes to AirBnB, yet zoning is evil NIMBYism otherwise?

Being for AirBnB not driving illegal behaviour != being in favour of zoning. Those two concerns are orthogonal. Empathizing with other people's legitimate issues doesn't imply being pro-zoning either.

It seemed like you were in favor of corralling travelers into designated zones and took an issue with residential areas being used for short term leases.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#198

Post by tehlike »

dcosson wrote: post #113
duxup wrote: post #26

I lived a few doors down to someone who basically ran an ad hoc AirBnB ... before Airbnb. It was pretty terrible. Parties all the time, trash, they parked anywhere (in other people's driveways...) because there were likely no long term consequences for doing so, the folks staying there didn't care because why should they? I was on the association board, it's kinda thankless job as we had to deal with this house. We g…

I mean, this just sounds to me like a pitch for AirBnB. They managed to solve this exact problem you're complaining about via the rating system and guests being attached to their real identity. The vast majority of AirBnB guests are very respectful and reasonable. As for your tight local control, fuck that. No, you shouldn't get to decide exactly what happens in your neighborhood just because you got there first. You…

Eh. Residents pay property tax to provide safety and so on in the area. There is a limit to what your neighbor can do, and you should be ready to deal with the cops all the time.

Re: Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments

#200

Post by alistairSH »

jak92 wrote: post #185
nate_meurer wrote: post #81

I run a vacation rental in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. I'm quite happy to pay the taxes the town demands. Our place is busy, and our guests make a significant impact on the town, spending a lot of money in local shops and restaurants. On the other hand, there is increased wear on city and county roads (many of which are gravel), and increased load on water, sewer, and sanitation services. Cities and co…

> I run a vacation rental in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. I'm quite happy to pay the taxes the town demands. Do you collect the same taxes as hotels do? Have you registered as a business with your city?

Not the OP, but my dad has as beach house that gets rented out weekly over the summer. He pays short-term rental property taxes to the county. No idea if it's the same rate as hotels, but it is a tax above what a non-renting owner would pay.
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