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Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

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161–170 of 337 posts

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But AirBnB is clearly used to create illegal hotels and that's the problem. The solution is increased enforcement of the laws that make these illegal. The incentives aren't difficult: Create an anonymous tip line to report illegal AirBnB operations that violate zoning regulations. Have submitters provide the street address and URL of the AirBnB to make it easy. The person operating the AirBnB (or owner of the house…

Why single out AirBnB? Why not go after Uber, Lyft and others running illegal taxis? For all the talk of privilege lately, it takes a whole other level to blatantly break the law en masse under the guise of "disruption".

This is a strawman argument and totally different.

They aren't "illegal taxies" They've been allowed by the local governments and are taxed. Austin got them all to leave at one point by requiring stricter standards of vetting drivers.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#162
post #33

A common quote on HN (and one that I firmly believe in) is: > It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. This so applies to AirBnB. It's not salary per se but those that benefit by renting out units or those for whom this has saved them money I've found typically get so defensive about AirBnB to the point of calling detractors NIMBYists and the like. I'…

I have neither rented or rented out an Airbnb. However, I see no problem with a homeowner renting out his home for short periods.

Everything we do has negative externalities, including driving a car. I don't see how Airbnb's are considered so bad. Moreover this is a correlation study in one city. The title implies a causal analysis which this is not.

Pretty easy to phack your way to whatever conclusion you want using correlations. Moreover what is the magnitude of increase? From 0.0001% to 0.001% . The article should show some absolute counts.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#163
post #33

A common quote on HN (and one that I firmly believe in) is: > It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. This so applies to AirBnB. It's not salary per se but those that benefit by renting out units or those for whom this has saved them money I've found typically get so defensive about AirBnB to the point of calling detractors NIMBYists and the like. I'…

> But AirBnB is clearly used to create illegal hotels and that's the problem. The solution is increased enforcement of the laws that make these illegal. The incentives aren't difficult: Create an anonymous tip line to report illegal AirBnB operations that violate zoning regulations. Have submitters provide the street address and URL of the AirBnB to make it easy. The person operating the AirBnB (or owner of the house…

"Illegal Hotels"

This always makes me laugh. A lot of hotel regulation was written with fire safety in mind (large building with a lot of small rooms in it and a high number of occupants). But AirBnBs... are just regular apartments so they don't break the fire safety rules (if the appartment is zoned for two occupants, really you aren't breaking any laws by housing two guests).

The rest is simply NIMBY and cities trying to fleece tourists really. Or bureaucrats trying to justify the red tape and regulation that keeps them employed.

EDIT: Wow, I see the downvotes yet no explanations!

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#164
post #33

A common quote on HN (and one that I firmly believe in) is: > It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. This so applies to AirBnB. It's not salary per se but those that benefit by renting out units or those for whom this has saved them money I've found typically get so defensive about AirBnB to the point of calling detractors NIMBYists and the like. I'…

1 is not an externality. It is fully priced in to the cost of renting the unit.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#165
post #40

As this topic becomes more and more mainstream, I look forward to the numerous Twitter posts sure to come from Airbnb employees about the taxing social implications that come with working at Airbnb, how it weighs on their conscious, and and their ultimate decision to follow what’s right and leave. But only after their RSU’s have vested, of course. More seriously, I’ve been very disappointed with Airbnb recently. I sp…

> how it weighs on their conscious

conscience.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#166
post #144
post #33

A common quote on HN (and one that I firmly believe in) is: > It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. This so applies to AirBnB. It's not salary per se but those that benefit by renting out units or those for whom this has saved them money I've found typically get so defensive about AirBnB to the point of calling detractors NIMBYists and the like. I'…

> Reduces housing supply I am a bit confused about this one. AirBnB does not destroy buildings, and they don't keep places empty, empty buildings make no money. In fact, before it started to be used as pseudo-hotels, it was a way for people to monetize the time they don't spend at home by having a tenant. I mean, before AirBnB, where were travelers staying? Hotels are the obvious answer, but AFAIK hotels still have c…

Here in San Diego (a big tourist town), in recent years our hotel vacancy is rising, and rents are rising as well, as tourists flood into livable dwellings (Airbnbs).

Further, hotel taxes used to fund a great deal of the city, but Airbnbs are not subject to the tax, so the city's finances are struggling as well.

Personally I'm fine with Airbnbs, and I often stay in them myself when I travel, but if you own more than one Airbnb, you should probably be taxed (and regulated) similar to a hotel owner.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But AirBnB is clearly used to create illegal hotels and that's the problem. The solution is increased enforcement of the laws that make these illegal. The incentives aren't difficult: Create an anonymous tip line to report illegal AirBnB operations that violate zoning regulations. Have submitters provide the street address and URL of the AirBnB to make it easy. The person operating the AirBnB (or owner of the house…

This is almost impossible to enforce. Depts. of Buildings are notoriously slow if the issue is not a clear and present safety hazard. By the time they get out there, the visitor will be long gone. They have to spend resources on the investigation, and build a pile of evidence. You think someone is gonna stake out every suspected violator for days on end?

They send a subpoena to ABNB and the company responds or people fo fo jail.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#168
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I've long thought that AirBnB allows people to profit off something that others around them bear the negative externalities from The more you think about it the more you begin to realise that this applies to almost everything you can think of. Our economic system is just bad at properly allocating rewards and value.

Generally, I think that shit rolls down hill and harms those without more often. Which is why I think this airbnb case is so interesting as it inverts the shit rolling direction in some cases. Those that are being disrupted and impacted in this case are those with houses and property. Silicon valley is almost disrupting silicon valley as equally as everyone else for once.

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are also plenty of non tourists who can't find regular housing who cram themselves into AirBnbs. It's better than sleeping in your car.

When I moved to New York for a job, I spent over a month in an Airbnb while searching for more permanent accomodations. My roommates in the Airbnb were all in a similar situations, needing a place to stay for 1-6 months. Without the Airbnb, where would we have gone? A hotel? But a hotel with a useable kitchen and good wifi would have been too expensive for any of us renting one of those rooms.

Historically, there was a type of lodging that seems almost perfectly suited to this situation: a boarding house. At least in my southern US city, the last of the ones here were legislated out of existence in the 80s and 90s as part of the war on drugs.

Re: Airbnb raises violent crime rates in cities as residents are pushed out

#170
post #40

As this topic becomes more and more mainstream, I look forward to the numerous Twitter posts sure to come from Airbnb employees about the taxing social implications that come with working at Airbnb, how it weighs on their conscious, and and their ultimate decision to follow what’s right and leave. But only after their RSU’s have vested, of course. More seriously, I’ve been very disappointed with Airbnb recently. I sp…

Airbnb is notoriously bad in NYC. It really only works well in places that are underserved by hotels.
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