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Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

nytimes.com

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Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#171

Post by notyourwork »

tjbiddle wrote: post #147
notyourwork wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of hotels in SEA.

The reason I book an AirBnb is that I want my home away from home. I don't want a hotel. I want to pop into an area that I'm visiting and feel as if I have my own space.

There’s hotels that provide this, look for long term hotels. They will have kitchens and everything else. If those don’t work than you are going to have to gamble with Airbnb. I used to use Airbnb for same reason but found inconsistency and don’t have patience to hope the place is adequate. Therefore I went back to hotels.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#173

Post by malkuth23 »

smt88 wrote: post #169
malkuth23 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is definitely not legal to setup hidden cameras anywhere that would be private inside your Airbnb. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/s1301/text Also, Airbnb asks you if there are any cameras in any place on your property and it is a violation to have cameras even on your front porch without acknowledging them. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it is definitely not legal. It also happens in hotels on o…

It's legal. Airbnb didn't (doesn't?) forbid it![1] They aren't even courageous enough to do that much. > has the intent to capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent This law is basically forbidding voyeur porn. A host could install a "security" camera in a living room. For a studio apartment, that would also be a bedroom. That's completely legal. Perhaps the camera is installed, but it…

Airbnb policy (and the law) forbids putting a camera in private spaces. If you are renting a room in a house that has shared public spaces, the host could put a camera in the kitchen for example, but it has to be disclosed (there is a place to do this on the description section of the website). This is comparable to a hotel having cameras in the lobby, elevator and hallway, but not in your hotel room.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#174

Post by ogre_codes »

hndamien wrote: post #150
RustyBucket wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many places (e.g. in Europe) there is no standard definition of bedroom at all. Rather generic room, which is space surrounded by walls.

AirBnB was kind of built on the premise of a random air bed anywhere. So I think they should actually get a pass on this. The rest not so much.

Not at all. While you can rent an air-mattress on the living room floor, it should be advertised as such. When a listing is for an apartment with 2 bedrooms and an air mattress on the living room floor, listing it as "3 bedrooms" is bullshit and not even legal.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#175

Post by bobthepanda »

nerdponx wrote: post #119
dickeytk wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be very surprised if that was the case. It's certainly not in the US or UK: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/68/part/X in the US it"s that it needs a window + closet I think.

If this were true, it would mean that many, many bedrooms in New York City are legally not bedrooms.

That is correct. Illegal subdivision of apartments in New York is not uncommon.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#176

Post by RHSeeger »

ars wrote: post #112
Terretta wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a certain US jurisdiction I have a room with a bed in it I can call a “nanny’s room” but I cannot call a bedroom on a real estate listing, as the closet for that room is through another door in a sort of hall. In Europe though, where armoires are a thing, and I actually can’t remember living in any home that had a closet in any room with a bed, I don’t see closet being in the definition.

"The International Building Code, which is used in 49 states and Washington D.C., has no requirements for a bedroom to have a closet." https://buyersask.com/edu/code/does-a-bedroom-require-a-clos... I keep seeing rumors that there are localities that require a closet, but no one ever actually names them. It may be a persistent rumor in your locality as well.

According to bobvila.com, it's a difference between safety codes and assessing the property.

> Fittingly, property assessors will follow the same bedroom definition when determining the number of bedrooms in a given home—that is, it must have a door, a closet, and an egress window. It is in the interest of homeowners, sellers, and buyers to know the subtle bedroom definition differences between the safety/builder perspective and the real estate/home value perspective, and to know one’s state and local guidelines for determining what can and cannot be considered a bedroom.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/406-what-makes-a-room-a-bed...

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#177

Post by bobthepanda »

dickeytk wrote: post #136
dragonwriter wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fire escapes are a thing, and required in tall buildings, so it works exactly as stated.

Fire escapes are definitely not "required". You rarely ever even see them out of NYC and within NYC they've been banned since 1968.

It‘s worth noting they were banned because they weren‘t actually safer. Cramped apartment dwellers would use fire escapes as an extension of their square footage, blocking paths to safety. And they were so rarely used and tested that fire escapes becoming overloaded and detaching from the building was not uncommon.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#178

Post by thrwn_frthr_awy »

londons_explore wrote: post #162
thrwn_frthr_awy wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, a few months ago they sent someone to my listing in person. They offered me $500 to make the changes they suggested.

Explain... AirBnB offered you money to change the text of your AirBnB listing? Why would they do that?

Not to change text, to change the unit. One example, they wanted a carbon monoxide detector added to the unit even though the unit has no heater (tropical rental). They said this was to give confidence as guests don't know that there isn't a heater. Things like that.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#179

Post by smt88 »

malkuth23 wrote: post #173
smt88 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's legal. Airbnb didn't (doesn't?) forbid it![1] They aren't even courageous enough to do that much. > has the intent to capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent This law is basically forbidding voyeur porn. A host could install a "security" camera in a living room. For a studio apartment, that would also be a bedroom. That's completely legal. Perhaps the camera is installed, but it…

Airbnb policy (and the law) forbids putting a camera in private spaces. If you are renting a room in a house that has shared public spaces, the host could put a camera in the kitchen for example, but it has to be disclosed (there is a place to do this on the description section of the website). This is comparable to a hotel having cameras in the lobby, elevator and hallway, but not in your hotel room.

It's not at all like cameras in a hotel lobby because I can't rent a hotel lobby. Airbnb guests expect privacy throughout the home when they rent the whole thing.

When you have a whole-home Airbnb, you may do private things in the living room or kitchen. For many people, a video of them watching a movie with a homosexual partner is dangerous because of the laws in their country.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#180

Post by hndamien »

ogre_codes wrote: post #174
hndamien wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AirBnB was kind of built on the premise of a random air bed anywhere. So I think they should actually get a pass on this. The rest not so much.

Not at all. While you can rent an air-mattress on the living room floor, it should be advertised as such. When a listing is for an apartment with 2 bedrooms and an air mattress on the living room floor, listing it as "3 bedrooms" is bullshit and not even legal.

It should be disclosed in the listing, but in search filters it is fine. They could probably find a way to disclose it better is search filters too with a bit of design.
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