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Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

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Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#71

Post by 001sky »

tetrep wrote: post #62
tpeng wrote: post #54

The issue is not between AirBNB and its customers; its customers can evaluate the risks of renting on AirBNB, and factor that into their rental price, as well as insure for adverse outcomes. The real issue is that AirBNB also imposes these risks on communities (i.e., AirBNB's customers' neighbors) by exposing them to, in the worst case, criminal elements, but even in a normal case, temporary renters who lack incentiv…

>AirBNB also imposes these risks on communities... The person renting to AirBNB is the one imposing the risks. If communities are being put at risk it is by the willful actions of their own members. >...AirBNB needs to work with regulators... Why involve more parties than needed? How do communities currently deal with "bad apples?" If we assume the community is functionally equipped to handle permanent residents who…

9/10 times in ny or sf the sublets are illegal...

the laws are already there on How do communities currently deal with "bad apples?"

Doesn't mean its the "right answer", but ...

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#72

Post by bmm6o »

moron4hire wrote: post #38
ddt wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think she's taking the position that there's inherent value in providing affordable residential property in New York which exceeds the value in extracting maximum tax revenue from every square inch of the city. At the very least, I find that to be a defensible position.

Yeah, I get that, but it seems pretty tenuous. All this talk about the "value" of the property with regards to it being used for one thing over another, when price is the way in which we quantify value. Who gets to decide what the value of a piece of property to The People should be? Should it be elected officials, who probably only represent the interests of the people on even numbered days, or should it be The Peop…

It's a common belief - especially on the internet - that whatever the unfettered free market decides (or would decide) is good and correct. You may believe this, and you may even take it as axiomatic, but you should be aware that very many people disagree, and will reject any argument with this as its foundation.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#73

Post by RV86 »

The runaway success of AirBnB has to largely be viewed as a reaction to the alarming trend of increased % of income spent on rent.

What used to be a standard of 25% has approached 45%+ in a very short amount of time in cities like NYC, San Fran, LA, and more. Wages have stagnated and tenants are doing everything they possibly can to afford to live in their city of choice. For politicians to go after AirBnB is to miss the underlying problem.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#74

Post by dkuebric »

RV86 wrote: post #73

The runaway success of AirBnB has to largely be viewed as a reaction to the alarming trend of increased % of income spent on rent. What used to be a standard of 25% has approached 45%+ in a very short amount of time in cities like NYC, San Fran, LA, and more. Wages have stagnated and tenants are doing everything they possibly can to afford to live in their city of choice. For politicians to go after AirBnB is to miss…

It could even be fueling the increased rent in a small way. With residential apartments occupied as hotels, there's fewer on the market. I've hosted on airbnb to defray the cost of my apartment; viewed from another angle, that's helping keep the market's costs up through my increased willingness to pay the prices.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#75

Post by jessaustin »

RV86 wrote: post #73

The runaway success of AirBnB has to largely be viewed as a reaction to the alarming trend of increased % of income spent on rent. What used to be a standard of 25% has approached 45%+ in a very short amount of time in cities like NYC, San Fran, LA, and more. Wages have stagnated and tenants are doing everything they possibly can to afford to live in their city of choice. For politicians to go after AirBnB is to miss…

This is a good point; it would be a shame (but not exactly a surprise) if society focused its regulatory policy on the symptom rather than the disease. One seems to hear a lot less about the evils of AirBnb from relatively-cheaper cities.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#76

Post by blake8086 »

tpeng wrote: post #65
tetrep wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>AirBNB also imposes these risks on communities... The person renting to AirBNB is the one imposing the risks. If communities are being put at risk it is by the willful actions of their own members. >...AirBNB needs to work with regulators... Why involve more parties than needed? How do communities currently deal with "bad apples?" If we assume the community is functionally equipped to handle permanent residents who…

Would you say that oil companies do not impose environmental externalities, but that the guilt solely falls on drivers who consume gasoline? No, the company bears some responsibility. As to your second question, this is a public policy issue, and there will be a policy response whether AirBNB likes it or not. I think it would be smart for AirBNB to engage in the policy conversation.

Replace "AirBNB" with "a bulletin board" and try to make the same argument.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#77

Post by josephschmoe »

tpeng wrote: post #54

The issue is not between AirBNB and its customers; its customers can evaluate the risks of renting on AirBNB, and factor that into their rental price, as well as insure for adverse outcomes. The real issue is that AirBNB also imposes these risks on communities (i.e., AirBNB's customers' neighbors) by exposing them to, in the worst case, criminal elements, but even in a normal case, temporary renters who lack incentiv…

Wouldn't that be the role of insurance? I don't see how bringing the government into this benefits anyone except maybe NIMBYs.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#78

Post by nathanvanfleet »

tpeng wrote: post #60
teacup50 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This doesn't mean that AirBNB's business can't work, but it does mean that AirBNB needs to work with regulators to find a solution acceptable to the communities in which it operates. I don't see there being a solution at all; hotels are zoned differently than residential for a reason. The fact that AirBNB managed to popularize "breaking zoning laws ON THE WEB" doesn't mean that the zoning laws need to change.

I live in a downtown residential building one block away from a hotel, so that's not always the case. Of course, some communities may choose to prohibit AirBNB altogether. I think the bigger issue is if the externalities imposed by normal usage are so high that, when properly internalized, AirBNB no longer presents a compelling value proposition in the majority of cases. This is certainly possible. From AirBNB's pers…

>I think the bigger issue is if the externalities imposed by normal usage are so high that, when properly internalized, AirBNB no longer presents a compelling value proposition in the majority of cases. This is certainly possible.

Sounds a lot like Bitcoin and some other tech stuff. Where the conceit is that is doesn't have all of the externalities, until it's realized that they are functional and useful.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#79

Post by jes »

rch wrote: post #4

> we need to protect the limited housing stock we have from being arbitraged into other uses This seems like a more compelling point than the title topic.

The "limited housing stock we have" makes it sound like they own the houses and apartments in question.

I guess property rights don't mean anything anymore.

Re: Krueger Statement on Use of Airbnb for Floating Brothels

#80

Post by teacup50 »

PeterisP wrote: post #70
teacup50 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does that conclusion make even the smallest bit of sense to you?

The point is that any inconvenience to neighbours from such a 'brothel' is hypothetical - nobody even noticed that it was there, so they definitely weren't harmed in any way.

There isn't anywhere near enough information to ascertain whether neighbors noticed.

I have no idea who my neighbors are. If they weren't actually here, in the building, I'd have no way to contact them whatsoever. That doesn't mean I don't notice Airbnb tenants.

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