Holiday letting hysteria

Real estate agents, strata managers and owners corporations are whipping themselves into a frenzy over the apparent threat from holiday letting – and airbnb in particular. A lot of it is ill informed and in self interest.

We have a house that is now on a combination of airbnb, Stayz and bookings.com. The best of them by far is airbnb. The guests have been fantastic and the house has never been in better condition.

When it was under longer term leasing we had continual problems. When the tenants left the place was stinking and run down. 

We changed to airbnb. Now we have a gardener that keeps the outside looking great and a cleaner that is in there all the time giving the place a thorough clean after every guest. We see the house regularly. It is kept like a palace.

We’ve never had a single problem with any guest – no theft, broken furniture, loud noises or foul messes. They leave the place in excellent condition, they communicate before and after their stays and they are a pleasure to deal with.

The airbnb system is fantastic because both sides rate each other. If i were to misrepresent the property, guests would report it and give me poor ratings which will affect my future bookings. Equally if a guest were to do the wrong thing, i get to rate them and it would make it difficult for them to use airbnb in the future.

Holiday letting is not for everyone. Income can be very seasonal and patchy and it is only viable in holiday locations or close to a CBD to get enough guests. As such, it is not impacting supply of properties for rent.

airbnb and other portals are here to stay and they are fantastic improvement over long term leasing for some people. Let the market find the right level rather than over-regulate.