Air Bnb has ruined my life

[itsafan]

There is literally no way out of this situation 😢 other than for us to give up our jobs and relocate in the hope that we can find new jobs and a place to live. There are literally no other rentals available in the area even if we could afford the rents. A mortgage is out of the question as we would need at least a hundred grand deposit.
There are at least 1000 properties listed on Airbnb within a 5 mile radius, many of them would be ideal but the rents on them are extortionate and aimed at tourists we are talking at least a grand a week.
We have lived here for years in a residential complex (well before Airbnb and booking even got popular) we have jobs here and friends here and a life here. It is on the whole fine for 9 months of the year mainly local people living around us who all respect that we are living and just trying to survive.
Then the Airbnb people turn up and every week it’s new people above us below us next to us. The noise is horrendous and probably the worst problem. Being woken at all hours with people rolling suitcases along floors, lifts going up and down, shouting in the corridors and doors banging. It just goes on and on like this for months.
My anxiety with it all is now so bad that I’m having to take medication. The noise just feels constant.
Do people even realise when they are booking Airbnb that these are people’s homes that they are disrupting? Why don’t people go to hotels anymore ?
So yeah there is a huge housing crisis due to the airbnb situation and I’m just a small person in a situation that I can’t change other than to leave somewhere I call home. I suppose my AIBU is am I being unreasonable to feel like a company has ruined my life ?

But the other lets are the same! Cottages.com/booking.com/blakes/sykes they are largely properties across all platforms. It’s daft to demonise just one.

Who is demonising? Not me.

You’re right, we shouldn’t use any of them unless it’s purpose built holiday accommodation.

I came on to say exactly this. So all those posters saying i would never use air bnb i only use whatever cottage website are just the same.

I don't use air bnb as i find their pricing structure to be misleading. I want to know the bottom line. I don't want all the add on prices just tell me how much it is. The last 2 or 3 places I've stayed in have been on air bnb as well as other holiday let sites Like booking.com
The whole system does need more regulation.
Many people have explained why hotels don't work for them.
To the posters suggesting a campsite. No thank you. It's not for me.

Is there a shared hall? I'd print out an eye-catching notice asking for quiet and consideration, suggest times and point out it's a residential block.
I have a friend in Spain that lives on her boat for 3 months in the summer and rents out her house - could you do something like that?

Thank you for raising this. Yes, air bnb is now a huge problem in tourist hotspots the world over, including in tbe UK, and they absolutely need to be regulated which in the UK prob means something like an HMO license or control under planning law.
They are removing a huge number of properties from the housing market with all the social tensions that follow on.

@booksunderthebed blimey that’s brave- not sure I could get mine up to spit spot standard I would expect if someone was renting for a holiday

@Livelovebehappy I understand that but do think there should be finite numbers ‘licensed’ within certain areas , it’s killing off many villages too in pretty areas as they are dead during the week or out of season, no kids for the schools , not enough trade in shops in the week etc out of season

There is a shared hall ! And I have actually done this today in a few different languages.
I would have to draw the line at a boat I’m afraid I suffer from terrible motion sickness 🤢

We have an illegal letting a few streets away from me (breaches the restrictive covenants where we live and probably also breaches the London no more than 20 days a year London airbnb restriction) which is making someone's life a misery whom I know. Luckily the council and Airbnb have now appointed a case officer. The owner was contacted who of course lives in Dubai and is from a country I won't mention but is a country of one of the enemies of the UK state and does not seem to care less. The owner is not the supposed "host" on the airbnb link . Since the lettings started the guests (or should i say the horribile people some of whom break the law ) are dumping waste in bin bags (as the airbnb for the flat has a rule about taking your waste when you go) I often clear up on the road by there and this week alone I have removed one plastic bag of waste and also a baby's nappy they hung on a bush. Awful guests. Awful hosts. Awful owner.

I think regarding clamp downs it does take years. Where I’m from originally (Edinburgh) it was a nightmare for air bnbs. It took years but there has been a serious clamp down ( for all of Scotland) according to Airbnb's own stats the number of whole house listings in Edinburgh has gone down by two thirds since its peak.

You need a licence and checks and it’s expensive, still doable, but much more a pain do landlords are less inclined .

@Xenia How awful 😢 some people don’t want to look after places though because it’s not their community and they don’t care. We had a tourist throw a table off a fourth floor balcony into the pool last year obviously drunk or on drugs could have killed someone.

If the government really cared about the housing crisis, then they would do something about houses being used as short-term holiday lets.

I live rurally and lots of people have an old outbuilding / bothy they rent out to holiday makers, they are not necessarily ideal as permanent accommodation. Would you like to live across the yard from your landlord in their old stables? Old stone buildings with lots of glass are freezing in winter too.

It does work well as holiday accommodation though. Owners are on site to manage bins etc, there’s no direct neighbours to be impacted. Tend to come and spend lots of money in surrounding tourist towns. I think it’s good to take a common sense approach.

If you don't like hotels, bnbs or caravans then maybe just don't go on holiday?

Your username is apt because that’s clearly going to be defined as something specifically for holiday makers. I am also not proposing to repurpose every bothy for tiny homes.

🤣

yeah right. Like i am going to go caravaning!!!! I love camping but again NEVER in the UK. But I will NEVER be caravaning. No effing way.

@Tiredofwhataboutery the only thing that's a bit sad about that is that lots of those places are beautiful and charming and would make lovely homes. Lots of people would prefer something characterful and chilly over newly built and well insulated and souless - people want different things from a home.

I rented a converted outbuilding for two years which was across a yard just like you describe. I absolutely loved it. Then the landlord wanted to sell it and I couldn't buy it because it turned out it only had planning permission to be a holiday let, because apparently isolated rural buildings can't be homes.

As someone who is heavy on their feet, into loud rock music, and happiest with no other people around, not to mention happier being cold than too warm, it was perfect for me.

I personally think the "it's not suitable as a home" line is trotted out a bit as an excuse not to devalue rural property by bringing more onto the market. I would much prefer to live in a static caravan than in a flatshare in a town - but most static caravans near me can't be used as a main residence either, because apparently they're "unsuitable". People want to live in different ways, and saying certain property can't be used to live in just ends up hurting the poorest, because if you're rich you can buy something in cash and nobody cares if you live there, but if you need a mortgage you can only get one on a property deemed "suitable" by someone who doesn't know anything about your lifestyle.

Really?

I didnt sayv i dont like them. Just that i prefer Airbnbs. So as it currently stands, i can stay in them, as they havent been banned. Yet.. .

I feel for you OP, I also loathe AirBnB for stripping communities apart. Where I live isn’t as bad but is proving a real problem for many. One house has rented out a converted garage in a little cul de sac, and they have people hanging outside late at night sitting on walls smoking and screaming. It’s worse for the places that have no one living there. People feel “they’re on holiday and want to enjoy themselves”, when they’re making a racket in a community trying to work / get rest / get kids to sleep. Also financially keeping families from renting to live etc.

Hence I only book with hotels.

I just wish you some luck and peace to be able to sort this out.

You love Airbnbs but want them banned so none of us get to enjoy them anymore? Thanks!

It's sad to see the absolute demonisation of Airbnb and people that use it! All it needs is the local authorities in every area to set limits on how many apartments can be used as Airbnbs! It's as easy as that! Not everybody wants to sit on a sunbed in an all inclusive holiday resort. Some of us actually like exploring and like to live like a local and move about so that's why Airbnbs are a precious thing for people, to have a home away from home and be part of the culture.
I've stayed in places we couldn't have stayed in without Airbnb because hotels might be miles away in a less nice location and far more expensive. My last trip in June was to Lake Ohrid, we had a beautiful little Airbnb overlooking the lake and in the old town where there are no hotels - we enjoy the peace as much as anyone and we are respectful of our neighbours. We stayed in hotel in Tirana on the first night before heading to Lake Ohrid and it was a crap hole, we stayed in another hotel in the last night in Tirana before flying home, was a nice hotel but couldn't sleep because the air conditioning was woeful and it was 36.c during the day! You get noisy and selfish people in hotels too. Cases and shouty conversations down the corridor at stupid o clock, the families that let their screamy stompy children into the corridors at 6am!

When I've had noise issues in an Airbnb, it hasn't been fellow travellers, it's been the uni students whose parents have bought them apartments in the city! We had one next to us in building in Catania, Sicily, we had to be up early for our flight home and her and her mates got drunk, thundered about all night ringing door bells including ours and shrieking with laughter. Wherever we've had noise issues, it's been a resident!

Sorry but you can't blame the people who rent them, like they did in Spain. It's nonsense. It's the greedy owners who are to blame 💯.

It is shit.

The Spanish government need to really restrict the number of Airbnb type properties. Tbh all governments do, they're not providing much benefit other than some people getting wealthy by providing holiday accommodation without meeting basic standards.

Many of them are now owned by companies.

I'm not saying ban them, but let's say in Tenerife for example. On the south coast in an area that pretty much solely exists because of and for tourism like Golf del Sur, you could have a limit set at 5 per cent. Somewhere like Vilaflor or Adeje (not Costa Adeje) or Arona that are away from the coast and very much residential could be capped at 1 per cent.

If not enough people are using hotels then prices for them will go up.