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Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

bbc.co.uk

181–190 of 214 posts

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#181
post #20

I understand that this definitely helps some vested interests (hotel industry, for instance), but the issue transcends a discussion of hotels vs. Airbnb and the cost of housing. I've had the displeasure of living in an apartment building that was used partially for long-term tenants (of which I was one) and short-term Airbnb guests. The experience was terrible. Constant noise, incredibly inconsiderate people leaving…

> seemed pretty reasonable; they wanted a quiet neighborhood where their kids could play This is certainly a valuable thing, I can see why people want it and I support it being available to them. But why are these the only people who seem reasonable? This land use is just as disruptive to the enjoyment of others as "a vibrant city with street life and parties." Why is this preference so privileged over all the others…

>This land use is just as disruptive to the enjoyment of others as "a vibrant city with street life and parties.

Being drunk and loud late into the night and not letting others sleep is not as disruptive as using land to live life.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#182
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's mainly to protect Hotels, bed-taxes, etc.

It's mainly to protect Hotels, bed-taxes, etc. No, it's mainly to protect residents. The people who actually make a city a city. If you're looking for greed and cash, look to the Airbnb companies that operate hundreds or thousands of rentals. Hotels are zoned into commercial areas so that they don't ruin residential areas. Airbnb flouts that. There are places in Chicago where corporations that own fleets of Airbnb bu…

This is not a pro-AirBnB comment, I'm just pointing out gov't probably cares more about the money from hotels than "protecting residents". Same with Uber and Taxi/Transit.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#183
post #69
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah, that's funny. I had a horrible night at a hotel in Ireland, where the room next door was partying and the attendant was just powerless to stop it (he tried).

That's the exception rather than the rule. Most decent hotels have staff and security.

Hotels in the US by far do not have security. It depends how large the hotel. Typically, places with large meeting spaces or banquet halls with a few hundred rooms and bars/restaurants will have security.

But your typical mid market hotel in the ~80 room to ~160 room range like Hampton Inn, Residence Inn, or Holiday Inn Express will not have any security, or anyone on property other than 1, maybe 2 people working the front desk. And they certainly aren't going to do anything other than call the police if something happens.

And the police may also choose not to do something if they don't feel like doing anything.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Once we had enough owners to vote on new bylaws we reduced short term rentals dramatically. From do as you want, to 30 days, and now 6 months. is this really a good thing? once you start banning rentals in the 1-6 month range, you are no longer just targeting tourists. you're also hurting folks without stable jobs who can't commit to a typical lease length.

How many are in this category though? It seems like a minority case and any decent job which may require relocation or unpredictable permanence offers moving assistance that handles breaking leases.

It's a good question and a hard one to answer. Many factors could contribute to needing under 1 year leases. I don't have a good answer, but you can look at your local leases. Near me on apartments.com, the 'short-term' category is ~40% of all the listings. Drilling down a bit into some of those categories, 3 month leases seem to be the lowest, outside of month-to-month leases.

My area may be an outlier, it is covid time afterall. But 40% is not an outlier, especially when it has an option in a drop-down menu.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#185
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would love to know why people are downvoting? I didn't downvote, but your post seems to come from a place of privilege. It puts your comfortable, posh 'digital nomad' touristy lifestyle as something that is worth sacrificing others' lives for. Oh no, you might have to stay in a hotel or long-stay vacation home instead of a short-term rental. Imagine the discomfort. To me, if you visit some place, you do as the lo…

I'm conflicted on this one and can see both sides. The "if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish" is a bit of a slippery slope. It's hard to understand the nuances of a culture. I've been living in Colombia for 5 years. It took me a couple years to understand the subtleties of Paisa Spanish and another year to really start understanding the culture. Visitors need years to understand what the locals want. An…

Japan, in a way, is a great counter example.

As a gajin, no matter if tourist or foreign resident, you will never grasp the nuances of Japanese culture in detail.

But you don't have to. You just need to understand and respect the basics. Be polite, respect customs, take your shoes of, when appropriate and you will feel welcome.

It may be a lot harder if you live there and you'll probably never be really accepted.

But not running into cultural disasters is fairly easy to avoid.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#186
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess as a tourist with a family, it's completely different. Hotels suck for small kids. Having a room with a door that can close, and a space outside is such a massively different experience than a hotel room.

Maybe I'm privileged? I don't want to sound tone deaf if I am, but hotels have always been fine for my family on short trips. Kids and all. It's not that long, for me a max of a few days. Typically, even for other families max would be maybe 2 or 3 weeks. Normally much shorter than that. I don't think having to use hotels for short term stays is all that inconvenient. I confess to using apartments for long term renta…

How old are your kids? Mine go to sleep at 7:30, and sleep for 12 hours. It's pretty well impossible to do that when you're all in the same room. There's also no room for play in a hotel room without bouncing off the walls. It's fine sure, but being able to rent something different is a much more enjoyable experience for my family. Especially if we were going to meet someone somewhere and can do a shared accommodation.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many are in this category though? It seems like a minority case and any decent job which may require relocation or unpredictable permanence offers moving assistance that handles breaking leases.

It's a good question and a hard one to answer. Many factors could contribute to needing under 1 year leases. I don't have a good answer, but you can look at your local leases. Near me on apartments.com, the 'short-term' category is ~40% of all the listings. Drilling down a bit into some of those categories, 3 month leases seem to be the lowest, outside of month-to-month leases. My area may be an outlier, it is covid…

in some of the poorer neighborhoods near me, you even see a bunch of week-to-week rentals on craigslist.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm conflicted on this one and can see both sides. The "if you visit some place, you do as the locals wish" is a bit of a slippery slope. It's hard to understand the nuances of a culture. I've been living in Colombia for 5 years. It took me a couple years to understand the subtleties of Paisa Spanish and another year to really start understanding the culture. Visitors need years to understand what the locals want. An…

Japan, in a way, is a great counter example. As a gajin, no matter if tourist or foreign resident, you will never grasp the nuances of Japanese culture in detail. But you don't have to. You just need to understand and respect the basics. Be polite, respect customs, take your shoes of, when appropriate and you will feel welcome. It may be a lot harder if you live there and you'll probably never be really accepted. But…

I don't know much about Japanese culture, but I've heard some bars / restaurants don't even allow foreigners to enter, so I agree with your premise that being accepted depends on the culture.

From what I've observed in Latin America, lots of foreigners commit big cultural faux pas without even realizing it. The standard American way of closing a car door is considered extremely rude in Colombia. Most foreigners leave a taxi, close the door as they usually would, and walk off without noticing the locals are offended. That'll surely vary by culture too.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#189
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a digital nomad I live my life in AirBnBs (with the exception of the occasional hotel and housesit). Over the last 2 years I have stayed in ~20-30 AirBnBs in Asia and Europe (we were going to do the Americas this year...alas). Without AirBnB I don't know how we would be able to live as digital nomads. Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). I understand…

> Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). You're looking for an aparthotel (generally purpose-built building with special planning designed for this use-case). Common in many European cities, at least.

I've stayed at plenty of aparthotels, and they just do not compare to an actual apartment though.

Re: Paris hails victory over short-stay rents

#190
post #113
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a digital nomad I live my life in AirBnBs (with the exception of the occasional hotel and housesit). Over the last 2 years I have stayed in ~20-30 AirBnBs in Asia and Europe (we were going to do the Americas this year...alas). Without AirBnB I don't know how we would be able to live as digital nomads. Hotels are not acceptable because they lack kitchens and laundries (and laptop friendly workspaces). I understand…

It's not hard to understand. If permanent housing is taken off the market for AirBnB usage, then the supply of housing for locals is reduced, thereby increasing the cost. Also, I'm going to guess most AirBnb rentals aren't paying the rental tax that most hotels do. (At least here in the US it's common to have a hotel tax).

Quite often, at least in Europe, the AirBnBs do charge the tourist/hotel tax, varies city to city.
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