Airbnb is an unlimited well of bad PR. They need to start whacking people with a clue-stick.
Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
11–20 of 171 posts
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#12Free speech rights are a stretch here. I wonder if you could make a viable case for the 3rd amendment though (to my knowledge it has never been done). Strictly interpreted, the 3rd amendment prevents the government from being able to force homeowners to quarter soldiers. If you think about the real intent of the bill though, it's obvious that the mindset is "you are free to use your own house without government inter…
>Strictly interpreted, the 3rd amendment prevents the government from being able to force homeowners to quarter soldiers. If you think about the real intent of the bill though, it's obvious that the mindset is "you are free to use your own house without government interference." that's a real stretch. that would nullify all zoning ...
Maybe? But then again, the 2nd amendment doesn't allow nuclear weapons, as interpreted by the Supreme Court.
Would be easy to interpret it as, the right to use residential properties for lodging purposes (hotel, apartments, B&Bs) cannot be violated, without letting you set up industrial operations.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#13Free speech rights are a stretch here. I wonder if you could make a viable case for the 3rd amendment though (to my knowledge it has never been done). Strictly interpreted, the 3rd amendment prevents the government from being able to force homeowners to quarter soldiers. If you think about the real intent of the bill though, it's obvious that the mindset is "you are free to use your own house without government inter…
I think the 3rd amendment is about as clear as it gets. Unlikely.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#14No legal expertise, but the thing that struck me is Campos' extremely flawed analogy. If we want to make comparisons to rental cars, the hosts are the rental companies. There is no third party platform to compare to AirBnB.
how about something like Getaround? https://www.getaround.com
I was thinking the same thing -- this law is more like a hypothetical law requiring people who rent out their cars (not the renters themselves) to register with the city, and requiring Getaround to police that registration.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#15Regardless of how strong Airbnb's legal standing is or isn't, they are the definition of a company who believes it better to ask forgiveness then permission. I believe that maxim is all fine and good when you're a person who cares about the well being of others, but when it's a corporation whose only goal is profit or growth it has the potential to be extremely detrimental to society.
>Regardless of how strong Airbnb's legal standing is or isn't, they are the definition of a company who believes it better to ask forgiveness then permission.
not really. they were caught, and their response is f* you, rather than to ask forgiveness. whether or not you agree with their behavior, they are very much NOT asking for forgiveness.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#16So basically SF wants companies like Airbnb to do their police/enforcement work for them. The city should be going after the unregistered renters themselves. Sure, that's potentially harder, but I can see that it'd be a burden to order a company to do it for them.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#17When does Campoes term out anyway?
There certainly is a struggle between ownership rights and the right of cities to regulate business within their jurisdiction.
As a renter, I can sympathize with wanting to avail more rental properties to renters, but I am also very uneasy with politicians dictating what you can and cannot do with your property when that act in and of itself is not otherwise illegal. It's not confiscation, but it also kerbs your ability let your property as you wish --and I say this as a renter who arguably would benefit from this politician's policies.
PS move HQ to Brisbane and take the corp taxes with you.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#18Free speech rights are a stretch here. I wonder if you could make a viable case for the 3rd amendment though (to my knowledge it has never been done). Strictly interpreted, the 3rd amendment prevents the government from being able to force homeowners to quarter soldiers. If you think about the real intent of the bill though, it's obvious that the mindset is "you are free to use your own house without government inter…
"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
I think it'd be safe to say that Airbnb would have a tough row to hoe trying to base their case on the Third Amendment.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#19Regardless of how strong Airbnb's legal standing is or isn't, they are the definition of a company who believes it better to ask forgiveness then permission. I believe that maxim is all fine and good when you're a person who cares about the well being of others, but when it's a corporation whose only goal is profit or growth it has the potential to be extremely detrimental to society.
Depends on your point of view. It's also detrimental to society if every new idea has to prove its viability while following the rules written for (and often purchased by) the previous generation of technology. It'd be a lot easier to get stuck in local maxima that way. Some ideas would never get traction, because getting the rules changed requires power and traction in the first place.
I would submit that this maxim does not well apply to the business model of AirBnB, Lyft, Uber, and the like.
They do not IMO represent an interesting application of technology. Just the profits of exploiting lag time between what is possible, and what is 'burdened' by consumer and labor protections.
I.e.: the industries they have moved into are highly regulated for pretty transparent reasons. Their MO works well until the regulators catch up.
Re: Airbnb Is Suing San Francisco to Block Rental Rules
#20> David Campos, a supervisor who has been harshly critical of Airbnb, called the ordinance a "modest piece of legislation," according to the San Francisco Chronicle, adding "If you are a rental car agency, you have to make sure the person that you rent that vehicle to has a license before you rent them a car. That is exactly what we are asking the short-term platforms to do here."
This analogy is obnoxiously flawed.
rental car agency:consumer != (airbnb:host or host:guest)