We used airbnb for our Cali trip in June. We had a separate guest quarters over their garage. All in all, for Santa Barbara, the 750 for a weeks stay was cheap and the room was good.
AirBnB is illegal in NYC because well it's NYC and the Hotel lobby is strong here. I did look at the site and was about to use it on a trip because it's a home that you're renting so it is easier with the little ones. I wouldn't be scared to give it a go.
are you sure? we booked a room through AirBnB for NYC earlier this year. trip date was this october. then i done knocked up the wife and our due date is oct. so we cancelled it, but we had paid and everything.
well for a time it seemed like it was, but after research (two articles), it looks like it depends on the apartment, and who owns it, etc. so yeah...looks to be ok for airbnb to work here for the most part. There was ads on the subway for customers to tell how AirBnb is great for the city.
Are you planning to rent out a room? I had a last minute business trip to Paris last summer...in July (hot)...while the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France was going on. Needless to say all the good places were booked. I ended up in a little hotel that had no a/c. I guess most places don't have a/c but it made it miserable trying to sleep at night. Other than that it was a decent place.
We used AirBnB in London and Dublin for vacations. Got a flat in London next to Victoria Station (central London) for about $100/night and in Dublin we got a room right on O'Connell Street right next to Temple Bar for a $100/night. I would say AirBnB is well worth it. :up: Someone who said VRBO and Homeaway are for upscale clientele is a presumptuous asshole BTW.
You already listed why the hotel market is scared. The only reason the AirBnB market is still tiny, is because so many people are still unaware of it or scared to try it. When you give people choice, its a scary thing. And thats exactly what Uber, Lyft and ride sharing has done to Taxi's in most major cities. Just 3 years ago.. none of my friends even knew Uber existed. Now you couldnt pay any of my friends to take a traditional taxi. Uber has gained that much traction in a few years. And competitors like Lyft have only provided more competitive private transportation options. I'd imagine 3 years from now.. We will be having the exact same conversation about AirBnB. And that you couldnt convince me to pay twice to stay in a hotel. FWIW.. I havent used AirBnB yet. But will this coming November in Aruba. After looking around prices for local hotels in Aruba, we found a fairly new rental home that is right across from the street from the big casino hotels and Palm Beach. The home has a pool, 4bedrooms, 4baths, beach towels & bikes. For $420 bucks a night.. 4 couples will be staying there.. instead of paying a combined rate of $1200 each night for a hotel room. If everything works out as well as planned.. I cant imagine any of those couples will look forward to ever paying big money for hotel rooms again. And just wait until those 4 couples.. each tell 4 other couples how great that experience was.
In the USA many municipalities have laws prohibiting short-term (less than 30 days) rentals of homes and/or running a B&B without a license, which is what you're doing by renting out a room(s) in your home for less than 30 days.
I agree on this gaining traction. We are flying tonight for a wedding in Savannah GA., then Sunday up to NYC. For what our hotel costs in Manhattan, some of those places look much nicer. I wasn't really aware of this, I had heard of B&B's before, but this nicely puts it all together.
Too late to edit my post, so I'm quoting it to link it. Here is a link to the house. Unbelievable deal for $400 a night!! https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/103673?checkin=11/05/2014&checkout=11/11/2014&guests=8&s=bB3J
Sounds like they are trying to protect the hotels. If person owns their home, why should the local government tell them who they can and cannot let stay in it.
Because the government wants the tourist taxes and to protect consumers. Same reason you don't have the old school boarding houses any more.
Short-term rentals are a business and therefore subject to licensing and regulation, collection of room tax and also things like fire safety, etc..
You can let anyone stay in your home, charging for it is a whole different story if its under 30 days.
To begin with, I completely understand the whole liability/business issues you refer to...that said, have you taken a look at airbnb???? The site is friggin huge and as are all the various offerings listed....you want to hang out in a treehouse in Bali???...no problem...there are a few to choose from...a canal boat on the Seine in Paris???...that's available as well... The site is too big now....the demand is there for the product as referenced earlier...why pay $1,200 a night for a hotel suite when I can rent a villa for $450???? Like Über....technology is allowing some really cool ideas to come to life and I'm all for it... Someone saw an opportunity and ran with it....no different than Brian Van seeing the opportunity and creating his presence online...smart move...
It's a great concept. I've used it as a owner and renter and liked it, but as an owner VRBO/Home-away works better for me. We have a rental, we comply with all state and local zoning laws, business regulations (license, fire safety, max number of occupants, etc..) and pay all applicable taxes. I'm all for VRBO and/or ABNB as an avenue to advertise a legal and conforming source of lodging (the definition of which varies dramatically from place to place). We've had some unlicensed rentals and faux B & B's spring up around here. Those of us who follow the rules advise the town of violations and the town shuts them down pretty much immediately. It's not hard for the town clerk to go to those sites and verify illegal rentals. I also know for a fact that Brian Van/STG also complied with all local, state and federal tax laws and business regulations...because the checks came out of Bonnie and my checking account when the company was in it's early stages We also reported others who violated MAP's for products which had them to protect our business interests.
