The Hotel Industry is Fighting a Secret War Against Airbnb

On two of my lakeside cottage I accept AirBnB bookings, it helps fill in off season periods (non summer) and is accounting for around 10 per cent of my revenue stream from those two properties.

The fun part is that AirBnB tends to attract a lot of International renters, we have had people from all over the place rent. It's been quite good. The downside is that when we've had problems or damages, the people at AirBnB are not helpful at all and their process prevents us from getting a security deposit. Overall it balances out I suppose but I won't use them for our main season bookings.
 
rudy said:
This isn't true, renting is almost always more expensive than a mortgage and always has been. The reason is simple some company, or person has to take out a loan AKA mortgage to build or buy the property you rent, and guess who pays that loan? You the renter does. The only reason people perceive renting as cheaper is because most people are not comparing apples to apples they are comparing oranges to apples. Seen it a millions times. Well buying a home I want with 3 bedrooms and a basement and a yard and a covered bridge will cost me $2000 / month, but I can rent for $1650, problem is the $1650 apartment is a 2 bedroom white walls formica countertop piece of junk. You could purchase a similarly small home for $1400 / month mortgage.
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Not always, this housing bubble is causing rent to skyrocket that and the onset of foreign buy up has caused the Miami housing market to skyrocket. And for businesses, everything is completely fucked around here, it's one reason retail is dying. The downtown area has seen the majority of its storefronts disappear due to increasing leases turning the place into a ghost town in some areas. I don't understand how this is good for the economy, why keep empty abandoned real estate with high prices that no one can afford? I am talking properties with no activity for 5+ years.
 
Here in San Francisco if a building was build before 1979 (I believe) it is under the guideline of SF's rent control laws... that is UNLESS it is a single family home then those rules do not apply, it basically was put into place for multi-unit buildings who's only goal was to rent to others, single family home owners still have the freedom to move, rent out their place and not worry about being restricted by draconian rent control laws, there still are a crap load of anti-ownership laws protecting renters but that's another story.

So in the same way calling a single dwelling the same as a hotel just because you're renting it out by the week is really a stretch. Hotels were build specifically for the idea that very short term guests would stay there, and they do absolutely nothing to help alleviate the local housing market (which often is the #1 argument against AirBnB), in fact they take away from it due to the footprint, but more importantly due to the lack of features found in most homes in all but the most deluxe of hotel rooms, i.e. separate bedrooms, a kitchen, etc., they are built in a fairly cheap per-unit fashion compared to a that of a home that a private home can in no way compete with, I can't imagine that a hotel could stay in business if it cost them $750k+ per room to build unless it catered to a high end clientele... or had no competition (which wouldn't be the case here since there's always a motel 6 type place somewhere).

Someone should be able to make money off their home in any way possible, if someone rented out an 8x10' section of their garage would Public Storage type places start getting their arms in an uproar? If I house people's pets while they vacation should kennels get a say in how the laws are written? This whole thing starts with billion dollar (or in the case hotels, trillion dollar) industries flexing their might to first get the public outraged then buying the local law makers to pass laws to protect their industry.
 
bos said:
If you think airbnb or uber etc are good, you're sadly mistakenly. The inherent problem is it will create a situation where you HAVE to use it to afford a vehicle or buy a home, as the prices will rise based on people who want to get around business ordinances and taxes and snatch up property as investments even more than they do current day. And increase unemployment rates, concentrate wealth, and eventually mass social unrest, which is terrible for business.
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boohooo.
 
Dinosaurs can't stand it when these tiny mammals come along and start out-evolving them, so they stomp around and roar.

Competition is good.
 
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Yeah! Funk AirBnB. I also think the Gov should tax you for every email because it takes money from the Post Office.
 
You know, I wonder if the horse industry tried to use it's political power to shut down the automobile industry when it was getting started.
 
"All of that has hurt hotel operators" If your $35B shrinks to $30B, that's not really hurting ... just sayin'. Like when a temporary tax runs out, then all the local gov't officials claim they are about to be shafted money-wise, when it was a temp deal up-front.

Having said that, houses are for homes. The # of houses used for business purposes should be managed.
 
As someone who actually does support for Airbnb, most of the "arguments" I see here are fairly ignorant. Airbnb requires all hosts to follow local laws and pay their taxes, ANY locality that wants to work with us, we set up agreements to collect them and remit them, those that refuse this, do so ourt of flat out bought and paid for bullshit by the hotel industry. In addition, we ACTIVELY remove people who fuck up, throw a party and trash someones home, BYE, act like a slumlord, get the fuck out. If you do not do your part as a host to document shit and act like an adult, tough. The guys who started this company, they did this out of necessity to survive and a drive to do something new in a city known for bullshit rental rates. Fuck the hotel industry, and fuck anyone with an attitude that backs them up.
 
ROTO said:
As someone who actually does support for Airbnb, most of the "arguments" I see here are fairly ignorant. Airbnb requires all hosts to follow local laws and pay their taxes, ANY locality that wants to work with us, we set up agreements to collect them and remit them, those that refuse this, do so ourt of flat out bought and paid for bullshit by the hotel industry. In addition, we ACTIVELY remove people who fuck up, throw a party and trash someones home, BYE, act like a slumlord, get the fuck out. If you do not do your part as a host to document shit and act like an adult, tough. The guys who started this company, they did this out of necessity to survive and a drive to do something new in a city known for bullshit rental rates. Fuck the hotel industry, and fuck anyone with an attitude that backs them up.
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No you don't , I've had two bookings where they trashed my lakeshore property and AB did SFA. Photos, calm measured responses. Don't blow smoke up my ass. I rent property for a living these days and I've learned to be extremely selective. Air BnB is the worst way to rent so far, but I'm inclined to take them in the off season provided they are smaller , older groups.
 
Simplyfun said:
No you don't , I've had two bookings where they trashed my lakeshore property and AB did SFA. Photos, calm measured responses. Don't blow smoke up my ass. I rent property for a living these days and I've learned to be extremely selective. Air BnB is the worst way to rent so far, but I'm inclined to take them in the off season provided they are smaller , older groups.
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Not knowing the specifics of your case, the only reason it gets denied is if you did not follow protocol, within 14 days or before a new guest checked in, or you did not provide sufficient documentation. also, considering the idiots i support who think anything they claim is the end of the world, oh wait i have to follow the rules EVERY time, blowing smoke is not my job, dealing with entitled assholes is. I have seen bad decisions, and they CAN be reversed, but on the whole, yeah your fault.
 
ROTO said:
Not knowing the specifics of your case, the only reason it gets denied is if you did not follow protocol, within 14 days or before a new guest checked in, or you did not provide sufficient documentation. also, considering the idiots i support who think anything they claim is the end of the world, oh wait i have to follow the rules EVERY time, blowing smoke is not my job, dealing with entitled assholes is. I have seen bad decisions, and they CAN be reversed, but on the whole, yeah your fault.
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As somebody who ran a support department. Given your assholeness here representing your employer I can only assume that the person is correct. And you are probably an asshole to all customers and renters when on the clock and that probably is normal behavior. If not normal behavior for everyone else, given that you are representing your company and acting the way you are, if I was your supervisor i would fire you for such horrible representation of the company.
 
ROTO said:
yeah your fault.
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And this is why we don't bother with the corp except for the fringe times. It's EBay all over, the seller is always at fault, been there, done that. While I fully realize you aren't much of anything in the company, your attitude is right in line with what I have come to expect.
 
ROTO said:
Not knowing the specifics of your case, the only reason it gets denied is if you did not follow protocol, within 14 days or before a new guest checked in, or you did not provide sufficient documentation. also, considering the idiots i support who think anything they claim is the end of the world, oh wait i have to follow the rules EVERY time, blowing smoke is not my job, dealing with entitled assholes is. I have seen bad decisions, and they CAN be reversed, but on the whole, yeah your fault.
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You're doing a pretty shit job of making your company look good. "It HAS to be the customers fault. We are perfect" is complete bullshit. Anyone with that attitude should never work in customer facing positions. You are terrible at your job and a terrible representative for your company.
 
no, actually i am pointing out a fact, it is VERY easy to get whatever support you need from the people i work with. what is NOT easy is getting people to do what they are required to do to get it. we are not in the business of giving away free money without cause. if you dont like that the company expects you to follow certain procedures and rules, seriously, tough, that is YOUR problem, I do a damn good job at helping people out of bad situations as a rule, i got out of my way and break the rules to do so when it is necessary. I AM an asshole, but if your right i will do my damndest for you, and hell any of my colleagues will. but if you fuck up and get in our way to help you, or think for one second you can get away with shit, it isnt happening. Airbnb is a really fucking great company who puts its money where it mouth, to the tune of 1 million dollars per host in case some dumbass burns your home down, but YOU got to do your part or you are out of luck. we do not work the same way as anyone else and that is why we ARE the best at connecting people with folks that have places to share. I do not agree with the assholes that rent out flip houses en-mass, most of them are scumbags who shit on guests, but if i think you are right i will fight my ass off for you all the way to the top, and win. guess what, ALL the people i work with are like this and THAT is why we get so many flat out treatises on how much we are appreciated by our guests and hosts. the ones who bitch and moan, 99.99% of them deserved the no they got. And like i said to Simplyfun, if you did right and were denied, sorry for your loss, it CAN be looked into again with fresh eyes, mistakes happen and we fix them when we can. hell you can pm me and i will look into it myself if you think you have a valid claim.
 
ROTO said:
And like i said to Simplyfun, if you did right and were denied, sorry for your loss, it CAN be looked into again with fresh eyes, mistakes happen and we fix them when we can. hell you can pm me and i will look into it myself if you think you have a valid claim.
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The judge said I had a valid claim, in a court of law. Guess I'll have to be satisfied with that.

Bottom line, Air just wants to get rid of any headache with as little effort as possible. Don't count on them to support you. Be aware of this and be prepared to use your own means.
 
ROTO said:
no, actually i am pointing out a fact, it is VERY easy to get whatever support you need from the people i work with. what is NOT easy is getting people to do what they are required to do to get it. we are not in the business of giving away free money without cause. if you dont like that the company expects you to follow certain procedures and rules, seriously, tough, that is YOUR problem, I do a damn good job at helping people out of bad situations as a rule, i got out of my way and break the rules to do so when it is necessary. I AM an asshole, but if your right i will do my damndest for you, and hell any of my colleagues will. but if you fuck up and get in our way to help you, or think for one second you can get away with shit, it isnt happening. Airbnb is a really fucking great company who puts its money where it mouth, to the tune of 1 million dollars per host in case some dumbass burns your home down, but YOU got to do your part or you are out of luck. we do not work the same way as anyone else and that is why we ARE the best at connecting people with folks that have places to share. I do not agree with the assholes that rent out flip houses en-mass, most of them are scumbags who shit on guests, but if i think you are right i will fight my ass off for you all the way to the top, and win. guess what, ALL the people i work with are like this and THAT is why we get so many flat out treatises on how much we are appreciated by our guests and hosts. the ones who bitch and moan, 99.99% of them deserved the no they got. And like i said to Simplyfun, if you did right and were denied, sorry for your loss, it CAN be looked into again with fresh eyes, mistakes happen and we fix them when we can. hell you can pm me and i will look into it myself if you think you have a valid claim.
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LOL Yeah....

I'll just stick with hotels.
 
swimming pool said:
LOL Yeah....

I'll just stick with hotels.
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I do hotels too when I travel. But I rent out via Air (but mostly via other web sources) a couple lakeshore properties in what's called cottage country here in Ontario. If you want a private compound with four separate and private cottages on a freshwater lake where the kids can swim and play... it's a different kind of rental.
 
nutzo said:
The problem is that too many people are abusing Airbnb, both the renters and the landlords.

Most people wouldn't care if their neighbor rented their place out a few days a year, but there are people who have bought houses and rent then out year round on Airbnb.
While it's legal to rent a home in a residential neighborhood month to month (or on a longer term lease), these weekend or daily rentals are disruptive to the neighborhood and a violation of the local zoning laws.

The other problem is the renters. People who rent for a weekend, or even a week, tend to be louder and more disruptive.
Even worse are the people who rent under false pretenses (like holding a loud party, shooting an x rated movie, etc.)
These all cause major disruption to the neighborhood, and are one of these reasons short term rentals are not permitted in most residential neighborhoods.

I don't blame the hotel industry for wanting the existing laws enforced.
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Yea I've seen enough issues with a rental house that used to be next to me(the owners finally sold it to a couple that moved in like a month ago). I saw a bunch of issues with the renters that lasted a few months to a year. I wouldn't want to deal with airbnb renters after hearing from people who have had them around them.

kydsid said:
Undercutting prices because you aren't complying with the same regulatory, insurance and safety requirements is exactly how Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and anything else in the sharing economy make their money. This should be obvious to anyone. Sadly most don't get this or understand the origins or most of the costs to the legacy providers.
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This was a big deal with uber in areas too. Areas like New York where a medallion for operating a taxi can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. These companies idea is to go into an area and fight in court that they should be treated differently. They should be regulated heavily just like the industries they are trying to disrupt.
 
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