Airbnb fights tough new city laws in court
LETTER FROM BOSTON: As a long-time thorn in Airbnb’s side, I’m trying not to take this personally. But no sooner do I arrive in Boston, Mass. than Airbnb files a…
Airbnb in strata
It’s not just Airbnb – it’s all short-term holiday letting (STL) in apartment blocks. But that California-based holiday letting internet site has become the generic term for this activity.
Now that there’s proof that it afffects residential rents – they go down when STLs go away – it will be interesting to see how state governments react when out borders are open. Expect lighter-touch, if any, restrictions to encourage tourism.
Report demolishes Airbnb’s residential rental myth
A new report has blown major holes in three of the myths at the heart of the Airbnb short-term letting pitch. According to a study by the Australian Housing and…
Roundup – Row over Airbnb code of conduct
Don’t hold out too much hope for a short-term holiday letting code of conduct that’s actually going to help you keep the peace when Airbnb, Stayz and all the other…
‘Shoestring tourism’ killing cities, says top crime writer
From Venice to Reykjavik, shoestring tourism, encouraged by online holiday letting agencies such as Airbnb, Stayz and their ilk, is destroying the things that make us want to visit in…
Flat Chat Wrap #1 – pet bans, bad by-laws, crazy neighbours and Airbnb laws
A chat about all the most interesting, strangest and most controversial items on on Flat Chat this week. In Episode 1, Jimmy discusses pet bans, undoing bad by-laws, crazy neighbours…
Roundup: The buck doesn’t stop here … or there
I should really call this week’s roundup the “runaroundup”, considering the way various government departments have had me pinging around like a pinball. A couple of weeks ago, I asked…
New Airbnb laws? Don’t hold your breath waiting
Psst! Don’t tell anybody but, you know those new laws about short-term holiday letting that everybody got their knickers in a twist about? Well, the rumour is that they’re not…
Business booms in blocking illegal Airbnbs
What would most Flatchatters change first about their apartment blocks if they had three magic wishes? Make it harder for people to let out their entire flat through Airbnb, was…
How a sense of security can keep Airbnb at bay
In a number of surveys over the years, one of the top reasons people have given for choosing to live in apartments is security. If being safe in your own…
Airbnb laws fail as high-rise party gang riots and robs
Deep flaws in the Victorian government’s laissez faire short-term holiday letting laws were exposed at the weekend when a groups of partying teenagers ran riot in a Melbourne Airbnb rental,…
Quiz: Who are the Airbnb hosts with the most?
Airbnb could be the best thing that ever happened to you since you moved into an apartment … or it could be the worst. You could be one of those…
Airbnb: NSW backflips while Vic bends over
It was neither the best of times, nor the worst of times – that was all happening in Canberra – but the last two weeks have seen the parliaments of…