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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

#341

Post by ghaff »

archagon wrote: post #336
ghaff wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What about a middle ground. If I go somewhere for 2-4 weeks? For that length of time I kind of want a proper kitchen, which I won't get in a hotel, but obviously it is not long enough to actually rent/buy a home. Not everywhere but at least in the US suite hotels with small kitchens are pretty common. Most of the big chains have one or more suite hotel brands. (Though honestly I not infrequently travel for 2-3 weeks…

Yeah, for exorbitant amounts of money.

Compared to what? I'm staying in a Residence Inn in a week for basically the same price as the nearby standard Marriott and Sheraton are. And Residence Inn is probably on the higher end of the big chain suite brands. They're not budget but they're squarely in the same range as midrange business hotels in general. They're generally what I book if they're a good option.

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

#342

Post by HWR_14 »

bombcar wrote: post #183
nobodyandproud wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to that: Hotels are rightly regulated. The consumer is naturally disadvantaged: They can’t assess until they arrive, they must reserve in advance, and packing up and going elsewhere is often not an easy option. Though I’ll add that even regulated hotels can be a hit or miss experience.

Hotels are also hilariously taxed, because it's perfect taxation without representation - the people staying at the hotels aren't residents!

They are opting to go to the city. They are literally voting with their dollars to be taxed.

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

#343

Post by wcarron »

jamiegreen wrote: post #269
wcarron wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

>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. What about a middle ground. If I go somewhere for 2-4 weeks? For that length of time I kind of want a proper kitchen, which I won't get in a hotel, but obviously it is not long enough to actually rent/buy a home.

This is exactly the entitlement I am speaking of. You want to go somewhere for an extended period. You want a proper kitchen. Your expectation is that the residents of a town or TheMarket should just... accomodate your desires? Regardless of their housing market, QoL, infrastructure, etc.?

Sheesh, jamie. I typically eschew using this term, but someone taking a 2-4 week vacation is already highly privileged to be able to do so. Tourism is a privilege. Not a right.

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

#344

Post by archagon »

ghaff wrote: post #341
archagon wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, for exorbitant amounts of money.

Compared to what? I'm staying in a Residence Inn in a week for basically the same price as the nearby standard Marriott and Sheraton are. And Residence Inn is probably on the higher end of the big chain suite brands. They're not budget but they're squarely in the same range as midrange business hotels in general. They're generally what I book if they're a good option.

I’ve routinely found that Airbnbs are about 1/2 the price of hotels, with more amenities and classier design to boot, no matter where I visit (assuming Airbnbs are legal there).

$300 or more a day is beyond the pale IMO.

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

#345

Post by steveBK123 »

stickfigure wrote: post #254
steveBK123 wrote: post #68

This stuff is incredibly common in short term rental market. You are scraping the bottom of the barrel on landlord scruples. There was a recent fire in a summer vacation town popular with NYers. The town requires summer short term rental landlords to get a permit & inspection. The landlord did not get one. The landlord also had sketchy kitchen wiring that was probably some sort of DIY and not up to code. The landlord…

> our condo expressly forbid short term rentals, and had language around minimum length of stay and lease approval requirements. It only stopped when we started fining them $1000 per incident. At least this part sounds like the system working correctly?

The problem is all of these platforms that basically automate & scale illegality.

The platforms act like its not their responsibility to verify compliance and hide behind terms of use & arbitration. Consumers assume that everything is on the up&up because they are going through big public company intermediary.

For example, as sketchy as real estate brokers are (very) .. they generally aren't going to put you into a literally illegal apartment. There is personable responsibility and concern about liability.

Why is it that all these SV firms can use amazing AI/ML to target ads, and sell us stuff but its impossible to use similar for following laws. Look at Ubers efforts to circumvent local regulators, its the same flavor.

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

#346

Post by ghaff »

yCombLinks wrote: post #338
ghaff wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's a demand for all sorts of consumer items in the world but people hit their limits. That's the thing with a lot of VC-subsidized services. There are a lot of services that consumers would be happy to, well, consume if they were cheap enough. Drivers, personal chefs, weekly housekeepers, lawn services, laundry pickup, etc. Even people with an upper middle class income are pretty selective about that sort of th…

With 3 kids every meal at a restaurant is closer to $50 than $10, it adds up fast. Then getting 3 kids to sit down and not embarrass you! And then one isn't hungry! I love what airBnB could be. What it is right now sucks. The kitchen / whole house is a big deal. Just walking outside for a few minutes at a real house is a big relaxer that's a lot less manageable at a hotel.

I can certainly see with a family. I just personally don't use kitchens when traveling even when available.

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

#347

Post by nfca »

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…

Accountability, responsibility and minimum standards. Hotels provide these, Airbnb does not. Hotels are direct service providers; Airbnb is a middle-man which does not assume responsibility nor enforces minimum standards effectively.

These are the reasons I have also long since returned to use of hotels.

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

#348

Post by Genghis_9000 »

hfbff wrote: post #116

I've used Airbnb ~30 times in multiple countries and have never had issues. Some places have been dirtier than I expected (nothing horrible though), some were much smaller than the pictures suggested, but the for the vast majority of cases it has been a good experience. When the experience wasn't good, I rated and commented accordingly, so the host got their rating lowered and maybe did something about it. I also met…

No post body was provided.

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

#349

Post by r00fus »

bambax wrote: post #232
specproc wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Absolutely. The exception is when you're a large family, or even a not so large one. Most hotels have no good/affordable solution for parties larger than 2. But when traveling as a couple, or alone as this lady is, there's no reason not to choose a hotel. Much better experience overall, and nowadays usually cheaper as well.

For over 4 ppl it's insane trying to find a good hotel rental - they're called suites, and they're uncommon and thus often booked or extremely expensive.

I just find a good 4 person room and we make do - or I Airbnb/VRBO.

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

#350

Post by mcguire »

stewx wrote: post #139
fareed79 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

basically, author expects calibrated minimal services, good support, and a minimal standard of quality. This is what you call a classic hotel/lodge. I fully agree with you, and those living close to these miserable BnB businesses surely would agree as well. This "model" is rotting city centers and popular places. AirBnB will never care about that poor lady. AirBnB will know how to make her anger disappear into the ze…

There's no good reason AirBnb could not offer proper support. Showing contempt for your customers like this is a choice.

There is a very good reason: their business model. They absolutely do not want to be in the business of verifying and maintaining their listings.
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