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Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

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Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#311

Post by trap_goes_hot »

omgomgomgomg wrote: post #126

Oh my, oh my, how the tune has changed on hn and social media on this and uber. Whereever people sense they can make a buck or save a buck, laws amd regulations be damned. I have never swayed an inch off my view. I knew first hand how this affects housing prices and wear, I live in a severly affected area and pay the price for it, literally. Same for uber. Neither is cheaper than the previous thing, hotel offers bett…

>Whereever people sense they can make a buck or save a buck, laws amd regulations be damned.

When has this not been the case at any point in human history under any government? There is nothing new here. Greed is a component of human nature, and capitalism (and other systems) can certainly bring it out.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#312

Post by throwayyy479087 »

makestuff wrote: post #229
Ayesh wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I almost never consider an Airbnb nowadays for these extra costs. Hotels do this too (with city tax for example), but that is just a few extra dollars a night, and not almost as high as the cost per night. I think the original spirit of someone renting out extra space they have is long gone. It's either a big company renting out what could have been rental units in the first place, or someone renting their plac…

Well and I don't have to do chores at a hotel. AirBnB says pay us $200 for a cleaning fee but make sure to take the sheets off the bed, cut the grass, and paint the walls before you leave.

I got a negative review on a property that charged a $250 cleaning fee for washing the dishes but not putting them away

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#313

Post by bmj »

dazc wrote: post #281
ghaff wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd add the nuance that you can end up with a pretty crappy experience at a 3+ star chain hotel for whatever reason. Usually though it's something that doesn't matter all that much at the end of the day like a room with minimal natural light. But generally speaking midrange business hotels are utterly unexciting--which is to say they're predictable which is what I'm looking for from my hotel in general when I travel.…

There is a budget hotel chain in the UK (premierInn) where if you complain you get a free breakfast and if you make your complaint official you will get a full refund. They have remained profitable for many years despite the obvious incentive for people to make unwarranted complaints.

This, I think, is the critical difference. If I get a hotel room, enter it, and discover anything is out of joint, I can walk downstairs and ask the manager for a refund, or at least a different room. If the same thing happens with an Airbnb, and the host has no interest in helping, you are basically out of luck.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#314

Post by alistairSH »

Timja wrote: post #150

The problem with AirBnB is the rating system. I have booked many dozens of apartments on AirBnB and my approach these days is: 1: Never book an apartment with less than 50 ratings 2: Never book an apartment with an average rating of less than 4.8 stars The problem is that AirBnB has set up their system so that even complete garbage apartments have average ratings of over 4.5 stars. Because of that, people still book…

Looking back at places I've stayed... all have ratings over 4.8 (average above 4.9), all have 100+ ratings, 75% are "SuperHost". None were high priced (relative to other Airbnb in that area), mostly middle or high-middle price. All were as-depicted in the listing, with the worst being "adequate lodging, fantastic location" (steps from Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy - apartments was spacious and clean, but dated). Others were above expectations (newly remodeled crofters cottage near Stornoway, UK).

Based on my experience, either I'm staying in very different locations (typically not big cities, Florence being the exception) or shopping at very different price-points than many of the horror stories.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#315

Post by denton-scratch »

stickfigure wrote: post #262
nrmitchi wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A system, but not AirBNBs system.

It's unreasonable to expect AirBNB to enforce your HOA rules. That's a private contract between you and your neighbors.

It's reasonable for AirBnB to verify that their hosts are in compliance with the law.

I am a landlord: I let a single house, to a family. New regulations came in on 1st September, requiring the property to be registered. I already had a valid gas safety certificate, expiring in 2 months, and an electrical safety certificate good for two more years. Registration also required an energy performance certificate, which I had.

But collecting all these documents, along with the precise dimensions of each room in the house, including the kitchen and bathroom, has been a terrible hassle.

I'm a good landlord; I don't mess with the rent mid-term, I fix things quickly, aand I don't bother my tenants. They are good tenants; they are German, and Germans know how rental is supposed to work.

I live in a flat, and my neighbour is an AirBnB, whose owner lives in Bavaria, and whose "host" lives in another town. It seems to be a nice clean apartment; but it's illegal, because local regs ban holiday lets in homes that are suitable for residential use. AirBnB don't give a shit. I notified the local authority, and they're trying to close it down. The "hosts" have appealed, so this saga has been going on for a year.

The problems, for me, are that I share the front-door of the block with complete strangers (where my post is delivered); the guests don't understand UK recycling rules, and dump mixed waste in my recycling bin (resulting in non-collection); and sometimes they have noisy parties. More generally, most of my neighbours seem to be investment properties; there are no kids around here, and I only know a handful of neighbours. AirBnB has sucked the life out of this neighbourhood.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#316

Post by throwayyy479087 »

cameronh90 wrote: post #9

The glory days of Airbnb are over. It's been flooded with dodgy hosts, and the customer support has failed to keep up. Hotels have improved their service and the prices aren't that different any more. If I'm after a more self contained holiday rental type of experience, I tend to look for places that have their own websites and independent reviews. They are, admittedly, a bit more expensive than what you'd find on Ai…

Disagree on the > cost component - the stated nightly rates may be lower than AirBNB, but with all costs AirBNB is generally uncompetive

You rent a cabin through a local company somewhere in Tahoe and it'll be ~400 a night, flat. AirBNB's include cleaning fees, AirBNBs unlisted cut, and the need to clean up after yourself. Absolutely ridiculous.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#317

Post by alistairSH »

Almost all of what's described can happen outside of Airbnb as well.

Take Asheville, NC for example... they banned short-term rentals (for good reason). So, if somebody wants a 1-2 month rental, you would use Craigslist/Facebook, both of which are full of scammers. Friends got taken by a scam in 2020. Found a listing on Craigslist, had some email with "landlord", signed a 1-month lease, etc. When they arrived, the house was occupied (by its real owner, maybe). The neighbor came out and laughed, said they were the 3rd or 4th couple to be scammed at that address.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#318

Post by MichaelCollins »

wcarron wrote: post #259
scarby2 wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tourists are included in city planning The reason AirBnB exists is that tourists are not properly accounted for in city planning and not properly serviced by hotels. There's a huge demand for what AirBnB provides (Serviced and short term accommodation). Hotels are inadequate for longer stays or where you just want the comforts of home, a good middle ground is the "serviced apartment" concept found in some places (e…

> a good middle ground is the "serviced apartment" concept found in some places (entire apartment blocks reserved for short term rentals) You mean a hotel? Hotels are not inadequate for longer stays. If someone desires the comforts of a home, they can move there and actually rent/buy a home. > The reason AirBnB exists is that tourists are not properly accounted for in city planning and not properly serviced by hotels…

Most hotel rooms don't have kitchens. It's not unreasonable to want a kitchen if you're staying somewhere for a week or two. But expecting those people to buy or lease a home is unreasonable. Short-term rental of homes is the solution to this.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#319

Post by gnicholas »

specproc wrote: post #66
mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #16

It's not surprising at all. All of these review-driven P2P marketplace businesses end up with the same problem. After the initial phase of early adopters that offer generally high quality products, a flood of fake or low-quality listing tries to squeeze money out of the platform. These people are not listing their homes on Airbnb, they are trying to make a living by extracting as much money from the platform as they…

Hotels are great. They create jobs, they don't distort property markets in the same way as AirBnB, and you get breakfast!

> and you get breakfast!

Really? I don't know that this was ever guaranteed, and post-COVID it's definitely not. The ones I've seen are paltry compared to 10 years ago.

Re: Illegal host, electric shocks, slugs, leaks and no support – How Airbnb failed

#320

Post by MichaelCollins »

lifeformed wrote: post #216
mancerayder wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it's also Airbnb themselves. It's well known that negative reviews are scrubbed and even edited, this is something many people including myself have experienced. Any doubts, spend some time on the Airbnb subreddit, which is run by hosts, and check out both their attitudes and their advice about how to remove bad reviews. Airbnb needs hosts for its revenue. Clients are the product. I used to love Airbnb and used i…

> 225 in cleaning fees Ah yes, and then you read in the notes that you also have to do the laundry and wash the dishes.

There are almost certainly automatic machines for both of those. Throwing the sheets and dishes into the washers before leaving on your last day isn't an unreasonable request. It only takes a few minutes.

(That said, fining somebody hundreds of dollars for not doing that is unreasonable for the same reason that the request is reasonable; because it's an easy thing to do.)

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