I fail to see what <i>exactly</i> are the claimed problems here. The article contains unproven claims like:<p><i>Rents for residents are being driven up, in Barcelona as well as Berlin, New York and elsewhere.</i><p>Rents have been going up everywhere because of the real estate market moves, not AirBnB. It's disingenuous to throw it on AirBnB.<p><i>In Barcelona, it used to cost €250 (£221) for a short-term rental permit. Now that such permits are no longer being issued, they change hands for up to €80,000.</i><p>This is the problem Barcelona government created by artificially limiting the supply just like NYC did with taxi medallions. What do you expect?<p>AirBnB is the good thing and its great to see these brave startups going up against government sponsored monopoly on artificially limiting taxi and hotel ownerships only to small group of rich people. These oligarchies exploit poorest people to generate passive income for the rich. In ideal world, people would vote out government passing such laws but their lobbiests have perfected the art to sweep these laws under the rug. AirBnB allows to utilize spare capacity available in the already dense city that is doing no work at optimal pricing.<p>Anyway, there is absolutely no other claims or proof or data I see in this article. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these articles are sponsored by the hotel lobby.
The problem with AirBnB is not AirBnB. It's hotel regulation.<p>What ABnB has demonstrated is that there is a vastly underserved market for regular travellers, who have no interest in 'having their sheets changed every day' - rather, they just want a decent and convenient space - and they can't afford the $250/night for a boring room 'corporate' rate.<p>If hotels and their regulations were efficient - then AirBnB would only be used what is was kind of meant for: either sharing/hosting - or - renting out fairly 'special' places that just don't fit regular criteria.<p>Most AirBnB stays are a matter of price and convenience.<p>The fact that I can stay in cities, in a decent place for less than 1/2 the cost of a hotel is what makes me hate AirBnB less than hotels and city regulators.<p>Something is deeply wrong with the hotel and regulatory areas there or else AirBnB wouldn't be a huge-huge thing.<p>A commenter below about a building that seemed to be AirBnBers ... think for a moment how even <i>more</i> efficient it would be if the whole dam thing were just a hotel, with a maid staff that only cleaned and changed the sheets between stays and could provide keys/keycodes. As it stands, even AirBnB is not near real 'cost efficiency' because there's so much 'little overhead' with each rental.<p>Not only should that building be a hotel but it should be <i>cheaper</i> than AirBnB! In fact, if markets were reasonably competitive AirBnB should generally be more expensive.<p>I understand that individual patrons don't have nearly the safety and regulatory expenses ... but it doesn't add up.<p>City regulators and hotel operators need to figure out a slightly different model.
Had a six month rental (not Airbnb) in Amsterdam and the effect of Airbnb in rental market terms was palpable. Less properties available and higher prices. This was during a time of falling property price for purchase, and yet a shortage of proper rental homes.. that's pretty unhinged.<p>I rented below a worker in tenancy management who told me he dealt quite often with protected tenancy holders subletting illegally. Ultimately the Dutch tax authorities and Amsterdam City council cooperated on a response to undeclared income with Airbnb and I think have pushed back on what is abuse of community value. If you are told by your "host" to act like it's not Airbnb, isn't that a bit of a signal about its legality? Or acceptance by neighbours?<p>It's a pretty destructive model, even if at the individual level is proffers benefits to the home owner (many who sublet, are doing it illegally or off contract)<p>Many body corporates are aware of short term letting in their communal property and can do nothing about it. Apart from Airbnb you also have to contend with illegal casinos and brothels)<p>The effects of short stay rental are not just about iconic western cities like Barca. There is a problem in Bali I am told.
The way cities go about targeting airbnb only exacerbates the problem -- they make it harder for tenants to host guests to offset their rental cost -- and thus incentivize property owners to take rental units off the market in favor of the more lucrative option of making them short-term airbnb units instead.<p>Cities should be allowing people to host in their primary residences, whether owned property or as rental tenants, if anyone is allowed to host short term paying guests at all.<p>If airbnb made it harder for property owners to list units on airbnb that weren't their primary residence, while on the other hand allowing renters to offset high rental costs by hosting guests at their primary residence on occasion, i see it as a win-win.<p>The protections major cities give landlords who wish to prevent their rental tenants from hosting on airbnb seem unreasonable until you realize that hoteliers and landlords have more impact on city policies on these things.
> In Barcelona, it used to cost €250 (£221) for a short-term rental permit. Now that such permits are no longer being issued, they change hands for up to €80,000.<p>So, this is the same thing as the taxi market: with an inelastic supply, the price of a medallion in some cities was worth more than a house. And if you're familiar with taxis pre-Uber, you can bet the permit holders will start neglecting the properties to the point that noone wants to use the service anymore.
I was in Toronto this summer, and it seemed like the entire condo was inhabited by Airbnb-ers. We were told in the instructions not to talk to the concierge or neighbors and when asked just say we are friends of the airbnber.<p>The funny thing is that everyone we saw was doing Airbnb. A bunch of people were entering the condo with luggage every time we were in the lobby, and when we left there were 8 other people were leaving at the same time.<p>It might or might not be legal in Toronto but it’s a poorly kept secret. I’m curious what an economic downturn would do because you can’t walk away from mortgage debt in Canada the same way you can in most states of the US.
I have some sympathy for people being kept up late at night be noise, although it seems like there are other, more direct ways to deal with that (i.e. cracking down on the people being too loud).<p>The rest of it seems like another form of NIMBYism though.
Airbnb is freaking amazing for travelers. I think it cometely changed the game for world exchanges. It's one of the few companies that I truly believe made the world a better place.
> Airbnb is a parasitic monster that squats over cities and hoovers up vast sums of money through its slimy proboscis.<p>I wonder whether the author would still have a problem if AirBnB were a nonprofit (e.g. took 0% of the cut). That would reveal whether his real argument is against AirBnB's profits, or that having an open short-term market is harmful ipso facto (but when who play the colorful part of the monster? probably the landlord-traveller duo?).
Ultimately the question is whether the market is constrained by supply or price. If the constrait is price, then hotels should be able to adjust and stop charging ridiculous default rates in urban areas. If the market is constrained by supply eventually it will be economically viable to build new units.<p>That's not to say that Airbnb should not be regulated similarly to hotels. Imo if you provide a nearly identical service you should follow the same regulations
Maybe I'm dense, but I'm failing to see any real problem here. Certainly none that would warrant government infringing on private property rights.
Another aspect of Airbnb is that it makes everywhere the same as far as interior decor goes. Traditional rent seeking landlords spend $0.00 on things like paint, carpets and fixtures, preserving places in some rotten state of decay as long term tenants are not going to be spending their money on such things even if they are living there for many years. There is no reason for them to do so and with landlords extorting as much from their properties as possible the tenants do not have surplus income to improve their dwellings even if they should want to do so.<p>Airbnb transformed that, the rent seeking class can now get income on their properties without having to put up with long term tenants. However they do have to spend money on the property fixtures, which can be paid for with debt, debt that is 'secured' by the property.<p>As a consequence there is a particular Airbnb style, it is a global style influenced by upmarket hotels and the faceless luxury decor you get with them. This might work out nicely for the rent seeker and the guest, however it means character is lost. The property becomes bland Airbnb which can't be transformed back to vernacular.<p>When the rent seeker eventually sells up and a new buyer is sought then the house does go on the market. It has its price and sells fine with its identikit Airbnb fixtures. However some people don't want to live in one of these ex-Airbnb places, they might have wanted mid-century modern or Victorian or whatever else the property should have, i.e. actual character befitting the area and not the internet.