Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m sure i’m being dense here, but can you please explain the justification for fining a retailer for an unattended cash register? Also what’s unsavory about CVS/Walgreens?
It creates a theft nuisance, they attract shoplifters to nearby stores. In that way you don't want a Walgreens or CVS in your neighborhood in the same way you don't want a 24 hour liquor store in your neighborhood.
Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
311–320 of 405 posts
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#312Earlier quoted context omitted.
> One of the reasons why all these SV tech business got away with it is the fact that they are all located in US Well, they could still be (at the very least) prohibited from operating in your country. Sadly, most of these services (Airbnb, Uber) were also illegal here in the US, but for "some reason" (aka lots and lots of $$$), no one ever bothered enforcement against them. Eventually they spent enough money on brib…
I'm curious if Uber/Lyft is going to last in SF. It does not take more than one $90 for 3 mile ride experience for me and my friends to never want to count on Lyft again. The way it works is, you think I'll just Uber/Lyft to meet my friends. So you order one say 20 minutes before you're supposed to meet only to find an extremely high price. You pay it so you're not late but then you also vow to plan ahead so you neve…
This is (usually) a better situation than when you're burned by phone dispatched taxi than never comes. At least you got where you were going.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#313AirBnB and everything around it has mutated into something big and ugly since where it began. Seems like we need good old couch surfing forums back.
>AirBnB and everything around it has mutated into something big and ugly since where it began. Now I am 100% out of the sphere of technology, but isn't skirting regulation to make money exactly how AirBnB got started?
Now, of course, AirBnB encourages fully investing in it as a landlord platform, where you rent and automate multiple whole properties and never meet the guests. That behavior lowers the quality of life in many tourist destinations today.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#314Booking.com is where the most desperate landlords and the real scumbags post. It's a cesspool. No wonder it's the only one where number of listings has increased given the circumstances.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I suppose while I am not Tom, Dick, or Harry... How are you not Tom, Dick or Harry? When I first started traveling, I believed the "I'm different" thing too, but it's a bit hubristic. Tourists come in all shapes and sizes these days and there are a lot of location-independent folks ("nomads") who will move around every few weeks or months, not days. In my experience, most "off the beaten path" places that have Airb…
> In my experience, most "off the beaten path" places that have Airbnb listings almost always have at least one legitimate hotel, hostel, or homestay. In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that most places that have Airbnbs aren't nearly as "off the beaten path" as you're telling yourself. I think that's kind of my whole point, to some degree. In the Age of the Internet, the world is more connected than it has ever be…
On the whole, Airbnb is a parasite. Those "off the beaten track" places we're talking about (where, again, legitimate hotels, hostels and homestays are typically available as well) almost certainly account for a very small part of Airbnb's listings, bookings and revenue.
The high-volume locations (think cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam) have experienced significant damage as a result of Airbnb.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#316Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't overthink it. The article was probably translated from Dutch, or done by a Dutch person, and there isn't direct equivalent for "listings" in Dutch.
That's interesting. So how would a Dutch person describe Google search results listings with ads in between?
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#317Earlier quoted context omitted.
It creates a theft nuisance, they attract shoplifters to nearby stores. In that way you don't want a Walgreens or CVS in your neighborhood in the same way you don't want a 24 hour liquor store in your neighborhood.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most theft at Walgreens/CVS isn't from the cash register being unattended, its from people just loading up and walking out with unpaid goods (which the local store security doesn't engage with due to fear of being sued)
I live in the north Dallas suburbs. About 75% of the time the entire non-pharmacy part of any CVS store near me is completely unattended. About half the time you walk into any one of them you'll hear the robot voice going off because someone just walked out with whatever they stole.
These stores are every bit as bad at imitating Amazon's fascination with automation as they are at scheduling and distributing COVID vaccines. For that matter, my proposal of a $5000/occurrence fine for unattended registers would also pre-eliminate one of those ridiculous unattended Amazon stores from popping up in your neighborhood...
The same goes for grocery chains. It's pretty obvious that the word has come down from corporate to store managers at Kroger and Albertsons to try and herd people into unattended checkouts. In the case of the latter, I've seen them have an attendant not work a register, but face-to-face try to "invite" people to the unattended checkout. All of this while a dozen registers sit closed.
These would all be very easily solved by a municipality imposing a minimum number of attendants per square foot of floor space and a fine for unattended registers.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#318Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a lose-lose proposition for anybody but the most short-term minded. "[I]n recent years the realisation has dawned that what’s good for Silicon Valley is not always good for everyone. What started with scrappy upstarts promising to make the world a better place has morphed into something more sinister: a pantheon of faceless multinationals who collectively dominate the world’s digital infrastructure, flouting regula…
It hasn't "morphed" into anything. It always was a way to easy money (while lying through their teeth), but way too many people are naive and couldn't see it earlier.
It's been a scourge on my small town. We were down to 0.01% vacancy. People were renting porches in a desperate attempt to find a roof over their heads and not pay $2,000 for the porch.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#319Regulatory arbitrage of some sort seems to be involved in many recent digital business models. Whether it concerns or involves (lack of) data privacy regulation, "reinventing" labour contracts or undercutting taxation frameworks, it is a most cruel reminder of how poor the management of the commons. While many of the efficiencies and attractions of re-inventing various businesses for the "digital age" seem genuine, t…
It's a most cruel reminder of how bad regulations are.
Re: Airbnb removes 80% of advertisements in Amsterdam after registration obligation
#320Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some regulations.
The ones passed in response to fat campaign donations. eg:anti municipal broadband, ever-ratcheting copyright laws
Obviously, if we just get rid of regulations entirely, the corruption problem will be solved.
.. or maybe the carton of milk i buy can now kill me.