this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2024
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AirBnB is horrible for local housing prices, because it removes long-term housing from the supply in exchange for more expensive short-term rentals. Guillotines are too nice for AirBnB owners; They should be thrown feet-first into a wood chipper.
I’ve always appreciated people who rent out rooms or expand their homes to let people rent a private space with airbnb.
I also don’t think VRBO, home away, house trip, and other companies that support this business model get enough visibility in the criticism against the model.
Which was the original stated intent of AirBnB. Going out of town for a day or two? Let someone stay for a day or two while they’re in town. Your place is watched while you’re out of town, it helps pay for your hotel while you’re gone, and everyone is happy.
But in practice, people buy houses for the sole purpose of listing them on AirBnB for 30% of the mortgage payment. They don’t care if it sits vacant for 80% of the month, because the four or five days it’s in use pays for the mortgage.
I don't think the Airbnb we stayed at in Charleston which was just this lovely lady's extra bedroom in her house really affected the local housing market. She doesn't want to rent long term and have to have roommates, she likes having guests and showing them around her city, and we're still friends several years later, so no housing is being lost, and it's actually a good experience. A single bedroom rental isn't a big deal to me.
I'm middling about the other Airbnb we stayed at, it was a sort of apartment, but I don't know who would have wanted to live there full time, the bedroom was only large enough to get a double bed in, let alone a dresser or anything, and we slept terribly, and while the kitchen and living room and bathroom were nice enough, there was no storage and a million stairs. The guy who owns it is a friend who owns the restaurant it's above and said he never has much luck with long term renters wanting it, as it is also noisy because of the location and smells of food all the time. I think a place such as that fares better as an Airbnb too. Short term rentals should not displace housing for sure, but I'm not sure they're all bad.
They're all bad. Full stop. You're rationalizing with "just". That lovely lady would've downsized or eventually would've had a full-time resident (even a friend or family), there is absolutely zero incentive while she's able to take advantage of the situation. Is she a registered business and paying taxes like all the other short term stay? That second guy, come on, you're really not that blind right? No one is willing to PAY what he wants for that rental. He can get that price point he wants with short term rentals.
I hate the housing narrative because everyone plays real fucking coy when it comes to their scenario. Do we have a housing shortage crisis or not? Do we have housing for all immigrants or for refugees across the world? Is rent and housing prices sky rocketing because of demand? Like wtf, any defense is just a pity story "think about the rich people with their easy life, we might be them one day!" Every single fucker in here defending renting just wants an easy scam to get rich and hates to see their future "dream" squashed like that.
I'm not sure I'm where you're at yet, but every day I inch closer.