Air BNB Should be Banned

[antelopevalley]

This started off as a lovely idea. A way for people to rent a spare room and show people around their home town.

It has since turned into a way for people to make money without adhering to the minimum legal standards that proper holiday accommodation has to meet. Even basic health and safety standards such as smoke alarms do not have to be met.

And it has created chaos, reducing the amount of accommodation for families to rent, pushing up prices, and hollowing out tourist destinations turning them into a Disneyland where few people live.

A ban would mean that anyone wanting to rent out holiday accommodation would have to do it properly. People doing it well could remain running their business but the amateurs who haven't a clue what they are doing would leave the market.

JoWawa, that's actually a very good point about having to move to Airbnb to get the bookings. I used to run a tourism business - bookings on our own website and via Visit Scotland. Then Expedia arrived on the scene and everyone started to book through their portal - prices had to go up because they took a higher % commission. Then booking . com became the preferred OTA and everyone books through them. So the high commission rates go offshore, (Netherlands) rather than staying in the UK and local businesses lose out because people aren't booking directly.

The OTAs do very little for their minimum 15% commission (and it can be as high as 35% which is ridiculous) but because that's where everyone books, accommodation providers have to use those portals.

I love staying at airbnbs when traveling with family. It’s much better for us than staying at a hotel or regular Bnb because we can stay at homes or flats that already have everything we need - multiple bedrooms, cots, kitchens, wifi, even fun toys for the children. The system can be improved but I basically never stay at hotels anymore and am so grateful for it.

I think short term let's like Airbnb or rivals should be licenced as either b&b's/guest houses (part building) or self catering holiday let's (whole building) - no issues with them existing but they should have to adhere to the same standards as othe holiday accommodation

Also Airbnb shouldn't be allowed to demand a photo before you book - I've been told this by 3 separate hosts but I refuse to put my photo on a commercial booking site - why is what I look like of any consequence unless they are trying to discriminate in some way. It's a commercial transaction!

I’ve used them lots. Had no idea that hosts don’t have to adhere to health and safety standards.

@gogohmm ive never been asked that!

It’s Buyer Beware, really. You need to look at the amenities ticked on the listing and recent reviews. I’d never book one that didn’t list a smoke alarm, or had an owner without a clear history and reviews.

It should not be buyer beware when it comes to basic health and safety. That should be met.

I’ve never been asked that. My profile photo is something nondescript and non identifying. Good way to filter out potentially dodgy Hosts if they require that.
I did have to upload a photo and photo ID when I signed up, but I don’t know if that is shared with Hosts or not - I assumed the photo was to match with the ID.

My point is that the consumer can see if basic H&S is being met and choose to rent or not.
It’s not really an “Air BnB thing”, it’s a “holiday rentals thing”.

Hardly 'on the cheap'! Shame it has seen off the traditional B&Bs for the most part, with their reasonable rates.

Totally agree, it has created shortage of housing in many areas. All AnB accommodation should have a licence and subject to the same rules as rental properties.

We have 2 Airbnbs but they're in our garden (log cabin and a shepherd's hut) and don't have permission for permanent dwelling. They provide much-needed accommodation in a semi-rural but touristy area. Not all Airbnbs should be tarred with the same brush!

I won't use Air BnB and I travel a lot for work. Not the slightest interest in supporting unregulated businesses and the sooner this implodes itself, the better.

Running holiday lets is a business and as such it is my job. I own, manage, clean and maintain my two properties both in in my garden as my only income. It's my job, I just happened to create it myself.

This is a bit of a silly post.

You can view all the facilities and amenities when you book, so there's no reason not to check for everything you need.

Start with licensing, proper regulation, and in some parts of the council, houses below a certain size be only able to be sold to people who are locals or certain key workers.

A world of difference between say a spare room being let when there is a local large event for one week a year, and a holiday let in all but name.

i don’t care what you do. Do you use properties which could be used to house locals if you weren’t running your holiday let from them? If so you’re as bad as the rest of them.

I get why holiday let’s are popular. You can cook dinner. You might have a nice garden too. But we have to face the fact that when housing is as limited in this country as it currently is, it is incredibly selfish to take up the housing stock with either a little holiday let business or a second home.

there are students at university this year, mid way through their degree courses who have been told to give up and try to come back in the future to finish their degree as there is no where for them to rent. Young people who have worked hard to get to university have been shafted by selfish, arrogant sods just like you (and others posting here). Get a moral
compass fgs!

I don't think it should be banned, as some people let out on Air B&B when they're temporarily out of the country, or whatever. And if there's demand why not supply? But there should be stricter rules about safety - not having smoke alarms is not ok!

Honestly, what a ridiculous post. Airbnb’s are so popular because there is demand for it. If people stopped booking these places there would be no demand and the properties wouldn’t be let in this way.

Your argument doesn’t really make sense. According to you, landlords are fine as long as they provide student accommodation but not if they are used as a holiday let? In both scenarios you are taking away properties that could be used to house locals.

I think this is the aanwer. Holiday lets have always existed, long before airbnb, and when there are an appropriate number of them they support the tourist economy. The problem is the volume of them - that's what needs managing.

Surely if you know of a property being let as an air BNB and it doesn’t meet minimum standards, you have the ability to get onto your district body and lodge a complaint?

I’m not understanding why the business model itself needs to disbanded or attacked for the sake of a dodgy property… I bought a bag of crappy potatoes the other week from a new green grocer, but it doesn’t mean I would call for all greengrocers to be forced to close their door.

Air BnB certainly has a place in the world and we have used it successfully a couple of times, as opposed to impersonal mid term hotel accomodation.

There are plenty of air bnbs that do not show they have a smoke alarm.

But students ARE locals. They live there all year around. They vote there. They ARE locals. AirB&B (and other lshort term letting agent) are hollowing out towns like mine. It’s vile.