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DIY B&B

washingtonmonthly.com

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Re: DIY B&B

#161

Post by [deleted] »

hell0_th3r3 wrote: post #75
jtbigwoo wrote: post #32

Despite the touching stories about financial ruin, the government has a legitimate interest in making sure B&B's are minimally safe and operate without disturbing neighbors. All of these "It's my property!" arguments are supremely disingenuous.

and in any case you are not even legally a owner you are a TENANT. before downvoting me, go and look at your deed. find the term "owner" anywhere on it. yes folks, the county has permitted you to enter into an agreement to make improvements on the land and resell that right to others. the county "owns" the land. most first-time home buyers are surprised to find out that they actually are only considered tenants

[deleted]

Re: DIY B&B

#162

Post by joebottherobot »

hell0_th3r3 wrote: post #86
gojomo wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All true, but the power of persistent online reputations can mitigate these negatives better than inflexible 20th-century-style regulations.

ever heard of astroturfing? after working on a listings site, i automatically assume 80% of ratings and reviews and astroturfed

That's not true. We take reputation extremely seriously. Unlike traditional listing sites, every review is tied to a financial transaction. Additionally, we have many other mechanisms in place to prevent astroturfing.

Re: DIY B&B

#163

Post by TheIronWolf »

cletus wrote: post #26

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the negative reaction to this here. The HN demographic is presumably tilted towards young men. What those criticisms seem to be neglecting is that those--particularly for apartment buildings--these temporary visitors impact beyond just you. In Australia, for example, one useful metric used by people when assessing apartment buildings to buy in is to look at the ratio of owner-occup…

Disclaimer: I'm a current Airbnb employee

I've traveled & stayed in Airbnbs quite a bit and have met the full range of hosts: those just doing it for fun & to meet people, working to cover their rent, allowing themselves the freedom to cut down work and finish their book, work on their startup, bring their B&B business back after 1 bad trip advisor review, and on and on. These are honest, good people with a variety of motivations. I've never stayed with a host that is doing it to screw over their landlord, spite the hotel industry or trouble their neighbors. Similarly, we aren't crafting our product to damn the man - we are driven by the lives we are enhancing by existing.

Regarding opening a brothel, bar or club in their dwelling? Think of it this way: if your neighbor has parties, all of the activities of those establishments can/will happen. As far as neighbors go some will not care and others will. If it is degrading your quality of life or endangering your wellbeing - then talk to the person and explain your side, file a complaint or whatever it takes to feel safe again.

As a side note, I am not a host. As I signed the lease my landlord said "I know you work for Airbnb and it's unfortunately not allowed in this building." I want to be host for a number of reasons but I've been told no, and that is fine. Though it is certainly a bummer.

Re: DIY B&B

#165

Post by huhtenberg »

smokeyj wrote: post #84
cletus wrote: post #26

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the negative reaction to this here. The HN demographic is presumably tilted towards young men. What those criticisms seem to be neglecting is that those--particularly for apartment buildings--these temporary visitors impact beyond just you. In Australia, for example, one useful metric used by people when assessing apartment buildings to buy in is to look at the ratio of owner-occup…

So much text, so little substance. Let's sum up your arguments for why this is good. 1) HN wouldn't understand because they're young men 2) Value of property in an area can go down 3) Property can suffer damages 4) Rentals may inconvenience neighbors All these points can be overcome without eroding our property rights. While values of homes can go down, they can also go up. Property can be damaged, but it can also be…

> Property can be damaged, but it can also be insured.

You are missing the point. I don't want common property in my condo building to be damaged, period. It just spoils my day.

Re: DIY B&B

#166

Post by alberich »

tptacek wrote: post #141
alberich wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if protecting people from bad neighbours is really the intent here. It looks more like they are trying to shut the short-term rental business down, to please the large hotel business.

I don't think Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham or Marriott give a shit about Airbnb; they do a full Airbnb valuation of real revenue every other quarter, and the market they service isn't "random places to stay", it's "hotel rooms". The preponderance of evidence available to message board nerds like us suggests strongly to me that enforcement of these laws is being driven by real complaints.

If it is like you say, it sounds a bit overboard to shut down everything. Maybe with some effort they could come up with regulation to solve those complaints while keeping the good renters legal.

Re: DIY B&B

#167

Post by urza »

...the hotel industry took its cause to city officials, who, in turn, lobbied Democrats in the state legislature. In 2010 New York passed a law..

Wow this is just plain wrong. The laws were meant to be made for citizens not for any one industry. As was the case with SOPA, PIPA and other bills, the law making process in USA is clearly broken and needs to be changed. It is a problem you (Americans) need to fix.

Re: DIY B&B

#168

Post by graeme »

tptacek wrote: post #141
alberich wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if protecting people from bad neighbours is really the intent here. It looks more like they are trying to shut the short-term rental business down, to please the large hotel business.

I don't think Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham or Marriott give a shit about Airbnb; they do a full Airbnb valuation of real revenue every other quarter, and the market they service isn't "random places to stay", it's "hotel rooms". The preponderance of evidence available to message board nerds like us suggests strongly to me that enforcement of these laws is being driven by real complaints.

Airbnb is a future threat to the hotel industry. I'm sure they recognize that. Most people are potential "hotels". This will keep rates low AND attract new entrants (because some money is better than no money).

Airbnb rooms are usually more pleasant than the lower quality hotels a lot of businesses book.

Once it becomes socially normal in larger corporations, a lot of employees will ask to be booked with airbnb.

Re: DIY B&B

#169

Post by gojomo »

The original submitted headline was more representative of the article's content.

I used to understand headline corrections on HN, especially when they made changes away from blatantly abusive headlines. Now it seems they're done indiscriminately.

Re: DIY B&B

#170

Post by smokeyj »

huhtenberg wrote: post #165
smokeyj wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So much text, so little substance. Let's sum up your arguments for why this is good. 1) HN wouldn't understand because they're young men 2) Value of property in an area can go down 3) Property can suffer damages 4) Rentals may inconvenience neighbors All these points can be overcome without eroding our property rights. While values of homes can go down, they can also go up. Property can be damaged, but it can also be…

> Property can be damaged, but it can also be insured. You are missing the point. I don't want common property in my condo building to be damaged, period. It just spoils my day.

That's a private matter that should be determined by your contract. Can't tell if joking..
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