Airbnb listing down 77% after NYC crackdown! Have hotels won?!

[marylander1940]

The hotel lobby has won the battle... but will they win the war and go back to competing with Airbnb?

 

Airbnbs in NYC are disappearing. Here's what could happen to hotel prices

WWW.CNBC.COM

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Hotel prices likely to rise in New York City, so travelers should book "sooner rather than later," said Kevin Davis, CEO of JLL Hotels & Hospitality's Americas.

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by marylander1940

[soloyo215]

I used to live in Styvy Town, an apartment complex in the lower east side of Manhattan. When AirBnB started, there were people who started making money renting their rooms instead of having roommates. The management of the complex prohibited AirBnB rentals almost immediately. NYC seems to be obsessed with keeping it to be a city of the rich, so it's no surprise to me that anything that can help people make money will be quelled. I think AirBnB is a good alternative for budget travelers. And in may other cities, it coexists well with the hotel industry without major repercussions.

In May this year I rented a hotel room in midtown. I paid for 4 days more than what I pay for any all-inclusive resort for 15 days anywhere else. The room could not be smaller and the facilities more minimized. All I needed was a place to stay, as many people did during that time attending graduations, not interested in using the hotel amenities. AirBnB (actually, there's also a gay-men version, MrBnB) would have been a feasible option. I personally think that both industries can coexist, with regulations on both.

[+ Pensant]

In the past, I always stayed at a nice hotel in Jersey City and simply took the Port Authority subway into Manhattan. That way I saved a bundle so I had more to spend on providers. 

[maninsoma]

Airbnb in good in theory, but there were a lot of abuses:

1. People removing long-term rental housing from the market by converting apartments into makeshift hotel rooms.

2. Increased traffic in apartment buildings with no doorman or other security other than locks on the doors results in increased threats to residents. 

3. Depending on the sensibleness of the "host," they may create a nuisance such that the other neighbors in the building no longer have "quiet enjoyment" of their residents.  That's what happened to me.  My upstairs neighbors turned their small 1-bedroom apartment into a flop house where 4-6 people stayed at a time, mostly younger people visiting the city to "party."  This meant that in the early evening it was always incredibly noisy in my apartment, and then around the time the bars closed I would be awakened and there would be noise for a couple of additional hours.  I kid you not that I probably only got 3 hours of sleep per night during that period until they were evicted (which happened because I did some investigative work and outed them to the landlord).

Speaking of which -- it takes some nerve to take someone else's investment property and turn it into your own without consent of the property owner.  They were basically greedy in the extreme and did not care that their actions were causing problems for anyone else because they were probably making $2,000 per month over their rent by renting it out on a nightly basis.

I have stayed in some Airbnbs, but I am not an unreasonable guest like the ones I had most of the time in the unit above mine.  I don't have people over who aren't on the rental agreement.  I abide by the host's rules (don't exceed the maximum number of guests).  I don't make a lot of noise at any time of day, but particularly early morning or in the middle of the night.

[soloyo215]

1 hour ago, maninsoma said:

Airbnb in good in theory, but there were a lot of abuses:

1. People removing long-term rental housing from the market by converting apartments into makeshift hotel rooms.

2. Increased traffic in apartment buildings with no doorman or other security other than locks on the doors results in increased threats to residents. 

3. Depending on the sensibleness of the "host," they may create a nuisance such that the other neighbors in the building no longer have "quiet enjoyment" of their residents.  That's what happened to me.  My upstairs neighbors turned their small 1-bedroom apartment into a flop house where 4-6 people stayed at a time, mostly younger people visiting the city to "party."  This meant that in the early evening it was always incredibly noisy in my apartment, and then around the time the bars closed I would be awakened and there would be noise for a couple of additional hours.  I kid you not that I probably only got 3 hours of sleep per night during that period until they were evicted (which happened because I did some investigative work and outed them to the landlord).

Speaking of which -- it takes some nerve to take someone else's investment property and turn it into your own without consent of the property owner.  They were basically greedy in the extreme and did not care that their actions were causing problems for anyone else because they were probably making $2,000 per month over their rent by renting it out on a nightly basis.

I have stayed in some Airbnbs, but I am not an unreasonable guest like the ones I had most of the time in the unit above mine.  I don't have people over who aren't on the rental agreement.  I abide by the host's rules (don't exceed the maximum number of guests).  I don't make a lot of noise at any time of day, but particularly early morning or in the middle of the night.

Abusive, loud guests and poor management happen in hotels too. Even unsafe conditions. I've been to hotels that are unsafe and terrible, and they are formal hotels. Furthermore, building owners are the ones converting the long-term rentals into short-term, not allowing their tenants to do it, and no, it's not better (always) managed by the owners. Not allowing AirBnB does not solve any of those nuances.

[MikeBiDude]

1 hour ago, soloyo215 said:

Abusive, loud guests and poor management happen in hotels too.

Yes, but with better and more available security personnel.

[+ DynamicUno]

I think the blush came off the rose with AirBNB when larger numbers of people (or often businesses) started buying properties specifically short term rentals.  The platform which used to be majority homeowners with a one or two properties they kept up with pride changed to arms length transactions with a faceless owner or property manager.

Add to that the growth of cleaning fees that add substantial costs, hosts with lengthy chore lists, misrepresented properties, and sketchy host behavior.  Suddenly the value proposition for Airbnb is less attractive than it once was for many travelers. Why put up with the quirks and compromises of non hotel property when you have to to clean everything, do laundry, and still pay a cleaning fee that brings up the costs to the same level as a hotel stay?

 

[+ DynamicUno]

1 hour ago, marylander1940 said:

I started reading your post and thought you wanted to ban Airbnb... later on I realized you're ok with it within reasonable and considerate renters like yourself. 

Other replies make me think of infamous NIMBY!

While NIMBY types are a factor, the land rush of investors buying up property to hold as short term rental got out of hand.  A friend of mine bought a condo in Midtown Atlanta and tells me how his floor would feel often abandoned because so few units were owner-occupied.  He found out that one firm bought about 10% of his building right when it opened units up for sale under nearly a dozen different LLCs, and they held them empty for a time before engaging a management firm to list them on AirBNB under several different accounts.  Once they started listing them they had issues with guests leaving trash in the hall, throwing loud parties, letting kids use the facilities unsupervised, etc.

The condo association was still run by the builder, so the homeowners that were actually living there had to get a lawyer to send a letter demanding they enforce the occupancy clauses on their building rules against the investment firms that were hiding behind the LLCs. 

[56harrisond]

New York’s Airbnb Ban Is Descending Into Pure Chaos | WIRED

WWW.WIRED.COM

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People are listing short-term rentals on social media and lesser-known platforms, bolstering a rental black market in New...

New York’s Airbnb Ban Is Descending Into Pure Chaos
People are listing short-term rentals on social media and lesser-known platforms, bolstering a rental black market in New York City.

[Bokomaru]

This thread seems to focus mostly on quality of life issues it causes. Let me tell you something, there are two NYC’s. Those who have rent stabilization or subsidized housing and those who pay market rate. Those who pay market rate are paying based on constricted supply because of the large number of places that aren’t market rate. AirBnB lets people run mini-hotels without regulation and in the process further lessens the housing supply of this city. If you can’t afford to legally rent a place here, then you can’t afford to visit. Tourists should not be getting (illegal) cheaper places to stay at the cost of further restricting our housing supply. 

[Stormy]

I rented a two story apartment last Christmas in NYC on Airbnb for 8 people.  There is no way I could have afforded a hotel for this many people.  This is regulation gone amuck 

[+ Coolwave35]

On 9/21/2023 at 3:43 PM, DynamicUno said:

hosts with lengthy chore lists,

 

I rented a place in the Berkshires last Winter. It was beautiful. One of the chores was, upon checkout, you had to take their town dump pass, drive 2.5 miles out of the mountains to the dump, get rid of your sorted garbage, then drive the dump pass back to the house. I told them I’m not doing that, and to spring for residential trash collection. 

[BonVivant]

The Airbnb crash has just started; it’s Going to collapse along with the larger owner occupied and Multi-fam market. 8% 30 year mortgages will do that. 

[marylander1940]

On 10/22/2023 at 9:36 AM, BonVivant said:

The Airbnb crash has just started; it’s Going to collapse along with the larger owner occupied and Multi-fam market. 8% 30 year mortgages will do that. 

The Airbnb crash is also because of hotels lobbying against competition! It's unfortunate that Silicon Valley companies haven't learned how the game is played... 

[marylander1940]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:12 AM, Coolwave35 said:

I rented a place in the Berkshires last Winter. It was beautiful. One of the chores was, upon checkout, you had to take their town dump pass, drive 2.5 miles out of the mountains to the dump, get rid of your sorted garbage, then drive the dump pass back to the house. I told them I’m not doing that, and to spring for residential trash collection. 

I hope you didn't burn the trash or bury it in the backyard! 😂 

[+ Axiom2001]

I've rented Airbnb's in Berlin, Barcelona, Buenos Aires,  Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro.  All were reasonably priced and well-appointed, excepting the one that I had in L.A.  I hope to continue to use its services during my future travels.

...too bad about the recent troubles/problems that have occurred in the City of New York.

[+ Coolwave35]

12 hours ago, marylander1940 said:

I hope you didn't burn the trash or bury it in the backyard! 😂 

Waitttt.  Did I tell the story about the time I did that????  

[+ ThroatCummer]

They're all on the black market now.  Remember when banning alcohol stopped people from drinking in the 1920s? lol

NYC Ban On Airbnb Created Massive Black Market In Home Rentals - View from the Wing

VIEWFROMTHEWING.COM

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When you make a product or service illegal that doesn't mean it goes away, it's just no longer legal. See also drugs, prostitution. And that brings with it a whole host...