The Potential Permanent Elimination of Airbnb in New York City

[Carlos300]

On September 5th 2023, the New York City Democrat Politicians Plan to Close Down Permanently

Airbnb for Short Term Renting. Hundreds of Small Homeowners Might Face Bank Foreclosures.

Has Anyone Heard Any Updates About This ??

[Robin4]

@Nur785 

Nur, you need to go back to my first post to Carlos. In my state, in my area we have absolutely no hosting restrictions, If there was 370 days in the year we would be welcome to host with Airbnb.

This has happened because  I/we have proved to our local business communities how much Airbnb benefits their businesses.

We are an oasis in a world of Airbnb bashing.

How many times do the screws have to be turned on STR in New York before you realise you are the subject of a concerted hotel/hospitality lobby group whose sole desire is to have STR banned.

Nur, the ball is in your court!

Cheers........Rob

[Nur785]

@Robin4 

Yes, I have read your first post and your previous posts as well. I think what you are doing is wonderful. You also live in a city according to wikipedia is 21 miles to the closest biggest city (Adelaide is a lovely place btw, but haven't been the your town) and has a population of 21,554 residents in an area bigger than NYC with all its five boroughs. 

Forget the population, the density in a square mile of NYC is 29,030 people. SO to put things in perspective, your entire population is less than the number of people in NYC in a square mile. 

The business in NYC do not care about the business Airbnb brings to them. It's smaller than a drop in an ocean. So organizing businesses does not work, and believe me a group in Brooklyn has tried. 

So shaming NY area hosts for inaction is really shortsighted I'm afraid. 

I think it's wonderful it worked for your area, but you must admit the demographics play a huge role in strategies. So while "no regulation" approach might work in your town, in NYC it leads to bunch of entrepreneurs negotiating with landlords (i.e. offering them higher rents) and using arbitrage to run airbnbs. Again, I doubt airbnb rental arbitrage is a huge issue in Mount Barker, South Australia. It IS a huge issue in NYC including all five boroughs.

As I said, I disagree with the ban of airbnbs, but regulations also allow smaller hosts who just want a little extra income continue. It prevents rental arbitrage, and that's actually a good thing because then live in hosts will have more income when the market is not inundated with cheaper, lower quality accommodations.

So with all due respect, you are assuming too much to say the ball is in my court. What makes you think I'm not involved in process. Just because someone is not playing the game the way you think should be played, does not mean they are not playing at all.

I don't like it when some people on this board keep saying this only applies to US and not to your area, and I'm afraid I'm doing the same thing now, but in my case, I'm making the differentiation based on population density.

I'm pretty sure if you were hosting in Sydney, you would feel differently. Also, just to say, NSW has some good regulations in place. I believe currently hosts can do 180days without being present, but host must be present in the building to do 365 days for greater Sydney area but they can lease all year if they are in less dense areas of NSW. So as you can see, this issue relates to the density and size of a city. 

Unfortunately, one size activism does not fit all and it's not a thing. 

[Carlos300]

Nur :

My Home has Always been in Fire Safety and Building Code Compliance for Decades, before I Started Airbnb.  I Sent my NON-REFUNDABLE $149. Dollar Fee Registration Application Over 2 Months Ago to the Government, and NO Answer.  And No Tourist from Europe or Asia will Visit New York City for One Month. They Come on Vacation for One Week or Two.  The Democrat's Southern Open Border Policy has Made the Situation in New York City Even Worse. If I Lose Airbnb, I will be Forced to Sell My Ancestrial Home in whats Called : a Money Losing Short Sale. Because in My Neighborhood, Most Regular Tenants are Dead Beats and Scam Artists.

[Karla-And-Carlos0]

Very good comment! How long took to take your short term registration license? How did you get it? Any advice about the application or proof?

[Nur785]

@Robin4 

I forgot to make the point about the cities who have effectively decreased airbnb are going back to proposing expansions for the airbnb units again. I am pretty sure no one is sitting on their hands and letting the idea of airbnbs disappear. 

As the saying goes when true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. 

I think the same goes for ideas. So airbnb will not disappear. And more to your point, believe me local business coalitions that have a hat in the game are cooperating. The airbnb idea will settle again in a few years. Good ideas don't disappear so easily as much as the Hotel lobbyists may want it to disappear. So what I will say to @Carlos300  is to chill, get a license, also maybe do not do rental arbitrage and if all his listings are his own properties, and they look wonderful, I'm sure he can rent them for good rental income. 

And believe me when I say, NYC home owners will not be destitute because they cannot Airbnb. They will still get a good income from long term rentals. 

The same thing goes for JC. I chose airbnb not because it was more money (when you add up the operating costs believe me the difference is not all that much), but because I want one the apartments to be available for me when I have business in the city and I do not like being landlord. Despite the occasional difficult guest, being a host is more pleasant than being a landlord. 

If I chose to simply rent my apartment instead of hosting, the difference in income is really not much. 

Last point, the 30day rule. There are many cities around the world who deal with this and this is how they have gotten around it. It eliminates short stays of less than a week completely. But let's say you need to stay a week or more, which is usually the norm for people who are visiting NYC area on vacation. You adjust your daily rate, take out instant booking. Yes, the income will be less and yes, some people might get the apartment for a full 30 day, but that's why you don't do instant booking, and have a chat with guests. 

 I've had hosts who send me a special rate for the 30day period but i stayed only two weeks. It's doable. Works out well for the home owner/host not for property managers who have multiple listings. It also benefits families who are looking for vacation rentals not for business people or those who come to the city to party for a few days. 

I hope this gives you a different perspective. 

[Mar125]

@Robin4 

Can’t agree more. 

Airbnb spent too much time luring new bees (new hosts) and spent too little time on lobbying the benefits of Airbnb to the local community. The growth isn’t sustainable until they realize how important it is to have a federal or state law to begin with. 

I don’t mind paying taxes, but i do mind getting soft Airbnb ban and ridiculous city ordinance that allows you to rent just 1 room per house. 

it’s best interest of Airbnb to lobby for a state level legal initiative to avoid micro managing city ordinances.

[Robin4]

@Mar125  You have to get the local traders on side, in larger population areas they are the ones who pay the lions share of council rates. If you prove to these people how much potential money they are loosing by restricting tourist travel through STR they all of a sudden become your best ally.

And as I said any council who deliberately restricts their traders opportunity to make a living is in for a real bun fight!

Trust me I have made it work here in my area and tonight I am the feature speaker in a hosting meeting in my state capital to put this message across and start to do what Airbnb should have been doing 7 years ago!  I am hopeful with the 580 + members we have in this branch if we make a bit of noise about this and back it up with figures we can keep this city of 1.3 million residents free from the threat of STR restrictions we have enjoyed up until now!

It's too late for you guys over there, you haven't educated the community about how Airbnb can be a positive influence.

The things you need to work on....

1/.......We have had almost 2 decades of STR now and it has become an accepted travel alternative. How many travelers (particularly family groups) would have changed their travel plans to an alternative if STR was not available? 

2/....... How much money did Airbnb guests spend in the community during the duration of their stay and what did they spend it on. You just have to ask the question, almost all will respond. It's a researched fact, tourists spend more than three times what a local will spend.

I have 7 positive points most of which will come under discussion tonight!

Whether we like it or not Mar, the world is run by lobby groups these days and the only people prepared to put the effort into a lobby group up until now is the hotels associations.....and, with the lack of any formal opposition they have been outstandingly successful!  

Cheers........Rob

[Mar125]

@Robin4 

I don’t even know how to pay the lobbying lions….

I don’t mind paying Airbnb for the funds they spent to lobby the state. However, it is simply not possible for hosts to do it as individuals. We aren’t always local. 

6 airbnbs i manage aren’t even local. So i don’t know when and how the city passes ordinances at the council meetings. 

Airbnb has to stand up to initiate those lobbying effort especially at the state level of the blue states. 

[Carlos300]

Thank You, Yes, You are 100% Right !!

[Carlos300]

To All Hosts in New York City and the Rest of the Country.

I did Not Fight and Beat Cancer

Just to Lose My Ancestrial Home to the Greedy Politicians !!

If Airbnb will Not Fight Enough, Then We Hosts Must.

[Carlos300]

Any New York City Hosts Biting Their Nails, Waiting for September 5th ?

[Carlos300]

To All Hosts :

There is a News Feed Site Called :  Money Festo

that is Telling Lies and Falsehoods about Airbnb

on Microsoft Edge News Feeds and other places.

If You See It, please Respond with Your Comments

About the True Airbnb - The Savior of Small Home Owners.

[Carlos300]

News Outlet "Reuters" just broke the News that Airbnb Lost the "Short Term Rental" Court Case in New York City.

That Means that Most Airbnb Hosts are Now at Risk of Losing Everything !!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Carlos300 At some point I hope you will realise that most Airbnb hosts are not in New York. I know this is hard to accept but the world does exist outside of New York so to state that 'Most Airbnb Hosts are Now at Risk of Losing Everything !!' is laughable.

Also most elected governments around the world recognise they will lose their power if they destroy the short term rental industry. As  an example, the UK government is consulting on a fair registration system that should benefit guests and hosts alike.

[Carlos300]

Mike and Jane :

If You Two had Read Carefully my Message, You would have Realized that I was "ONLY"

Talking to Hosts in New York City.

And the New York Situation is a Far Cry From Merry Olde England.

Carlos - Airbnb Superhost - 9 Years Straight in a Row.