Re: Option for Airbnb regulation

Thanks Jimmy for the details response.  I agree with your analysis of the situation, but perhaps not the solution. 

If we were talking about muggings, and the police were known to be turning a blind eye because they are under-funded, the solution would not be to arm the neighbourhood watch.  The reality that many people are trying to break law is not a reason to give up on policing it.

If the councils need to make the licence fee high enough to cover the cost of what I would call ‘doing their job’, then that’s ok.  Isn’t the Airbnb proposal to take a large cut from hosts and give it to strata?  Why not make the licence expensive instead?  The 23,000 hosts we have now is way too high.  Not every property is suitable for short term rental.  That number should be halved.

I’m still left with a couple of questions about the way you and other journalists write about Airbnb.  Firstly, if you believe that Council ownership of short-term rental management is ‘makes a lot of sense’ then why did you not list it as one of the options in your article explaining the down sides it brings?  You gave 5 very detailed options but left out a major one.

Secondly, I understand why Airbnb continually represent themselves as ‘mum and dad making some extra cash’, by why do journalist not talk about the people buying units for Airbnb exclusively?  That’s the real issue.  I can’t imagine there are any issues for neighbours in properties where the owners are living there at the same time.

Full disclosure, my wife and I own properties that are being rented Airbnb, but they are in Kings Cross, are high end, require 1 week min stay and don’t offer stereos or allow parties.  We have never had a genuine complaint.  We did though face an issue with one property when we started.  The chairman of the executive committee is a bored old man who came up with a range of fictitious issues.  He wrongly though there would be more noise, and water costs even though the place is only rented 70% of the time.  He didn’t want ‘strangers’ in the building even though the guests are all fully vetted well off tourists and the building is between two Kings cross hostels.   He called the council who came to inspect but they told us that the ONLY issue they have with a well-run Airbnb like ours was that in event of a fire, a short term guest will be less well orientated and unlike a hotel there are no staff to help.

I mention this because my concern is that a plan to let strata executive committee’s manage short -term rental will mean there will be a reduction in the number of Airbnb, but not the places that genuinely need to be refused the option to rent short term but in buildings with the most ‘angry’ and forceful committees.