Got an email from “Evelyn” telling me to sign a petition to protect Airbnb from the evil AG. First, there’s no hint Evelyn is even a real person in NYC. Second, it’s sent from an automated email address.
So thank you Airbnb for once again treating your users as pawns to milk money from, but putting out a bullshit facade that you are out to build some sort of awesome community.
If those of you are wondering why I’m doubting Evelyn even exists, Google “Airbnb Craigslist Hack”.
<p>Got the same email today, here it is ...</p>
<p>"Dear Guest,</p>
<p>My name is Evelyn, and I'm an Airbnb host in New York City.</p>
<p>The Airbnb community has given me the chance to meet interesting people like you from all over who want to experience New York like a local.</p>
<p>I’m writing today to ask for your help.</p>
<p>In a meeting with local business leaders, our Attorney General said that he wants to “protect” the multibillion dollar hotel industry.</p>
<p>Add your name to tell Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: Airbnb and the rest of the local sharing economy are helping New York -- protect all of us.</p>
<p>If you're following this story, you may have heard that the Attorney General in New York issued a subpoena demanding personal information about thousands of Airbnb hosts in New York. I’ve never understood it. Airbnb hosts and guests are just people who believe if we have something great, we should share it with others.</p>
<p>I hope you will join me and make your voice heard -- tell New York’s Attorney General to support the sharing economy.</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Evelyn"</p>
puke
When Evelyn counters the AG's claim that Airbnb hosts are skirting regulations and taxes with "hey we're just sharing", its like saying "Forget about the no animals allowed sign, look at this cute kitten in my arms! Aww isn't she cute? How dare you Eric Schniderman!"
Hotels not only have to pay taxes, they have to abide by strict safety and hygiene codes. Airbnb hosts don't play by the same rule.
BTW if anyone is curious, the subject-line was "Protect all of us".
" Airbnb hosts and guests are just people who believe if we have something great, we should share it with others."
Not if what you have is an apartment and sharing it with others means inconveniencing the other tenants.
I've used Airbnb and although my experience has mostly been positive, I've noticed that a lot of them are violating their lease agreements and telling me to say that I'm a "friend" who is visiting if anyone asks. Most leases say you can't have guests staying over 30 days, and I'm betting none of the Airbnb hosts are abiding by that.
Airbnb is just facilitating fraud, in the name of "sharing" and that's low.
Don't stop innovation you haters. Nothings perfect at first. As legislation catches up the rules will change and it will find a balance. Just don't make a statement without bringing a solution to the party.
In what world is flagrantly flaunting breaking the law (or encouraging others to do so) considered "innovation?"
There should be no rule to stop anybody from being allowed to rent their apartments. And there should be more than one giant company that facilitates this exchange...
I'm in favor of AirBnB. The collaborative capitalism that it fosters is the new wave that has made economic opportunities more accessible to the proletariat.
As with any new process that's been heavily vetted, it's ready to be tweaked a bit. It NEEDS to be tweaked. It needs to be tweaked not to accommodate vested economic interests controlled by the hotelling industry but to accommodate the people who are immediately impacted by temporary AirBnB housing / hotelling.
It is a fact that buildings with high turnover of its occupants negatively effects the quality of life. You said "there should be no rule to stop anybody...". The word "should" implies right of way based on social entitlements or rights. When you share life in a building, the rights of the commons comes before those of the members. The bylaws state what the social entitlements are for its occupants. This is why boilerplate (cooker-cutter templates) by-laws for common dwelling buildings, such as condominiums and cooperatives, generally include a minimum-stay requirement of a year. It serves to protect the entitlements of the entire building and to mitigate self-entitled interests.
If the AG wants to crack down on illegal hotels, brothels etc - fine. That absolutely needs to be stopped. The problem comes from the over-reach. They want ALL NYC host names. Every. Single. One. That includes my wife & I. We used airbnb to help us pay rent for a few months after I lost my last job. Sorry, I don't want my private info tossed around some courtroom. Good for Airbnb for fighting this.
Airbnb created a system that facilitated fraud. If you deal with a fraudulent company, don't be surprised that your records are seized even if you were an innocent party.
+1
All of these rentals that are not owner occupied are illegal. Period. We should be able to do what we want won't work in a court of law for another other offense, why should they make an exception here?
The recent stories about sex parties, escort services, and meth heads using Airbnb rentals are just the tip of the iceberg. The neighbors are very lucky that nothing happened to them.
Those of you who support this illegal activity will feel different when a terrorist rents an apartment under the radar on your block.
The rest of us pay taxes and follow the law. These people are breaking the law and most of them are evading the lodging and income taxes.
I know it's fun to break the law in movies, but this is real life and it won't be fun for these people when they are required to pay those back taxes with penalties and interest. If they are lucky, the AG will give them an amnesty from penalties if they come clean and pay up before they come for them.
Even if they are owner occupied, if the property being rented are under some sort of HOA, particularly in multi-tenant buildings, they will almost always violate some form of short-term guest restrictions.
I can empathize with the legitimate BnB owners as well as those who are doing it by the law and don't want to be caught up in all this.
But at the end of the day its Airbnb's fault. They are the one who created this mess. If anyone wants to get pissed of, they should get angry with Airbnb for allowing AND encouraging the illegal short term rentals of properties.
1) Investors made tax evasion a multi-billion dollar business.
What percentage of investors in the hotelling industry have offshore investment accounts? Whatever you think that percentage is represents the people who cannot say shit about tax evasion.
2) Shadow economy is the result of backwards rules and regulations. I recommend you read up about the shadow economy in India. It's the result of corrupt policies and laws pushing entrepreneurs to the dark.