@Robin4
Thanks for taking the time to do that for me Rob, much appreciated. 🙂
There's a multitude of "property management" sites out there like the one you linked to, all quoting the same regurgitated statistics, most of which originate from Airbnb's publicity machine anyway. Also, you see the same dubious stats appearing again and again throughout mainstream and social media, and you start to realise that even the specialist publications aren't doing their homework- they're simply trotting out whatever tired old lines they're fed, without questioning. Lazy journalism, at its worst. It astounds me, tbh. I guess investigative reporting must be a thing of the past.
For 3 years now, I have repeatedly challenged Airbnb managers, country managers, directors and even global heads - face to face - about the credibility of the stats they routinely use in their PR Charm Offensives around the world. I've pointed out - many times - that until the company stops taking local governments - and residents - for fools by trying to palm them off with "facts" and "figures" that a 5 year old could see don't add up, and start providing the real data lawmakers and policymakers have been trying, without success, to extract from them for years (ie a clear breakdown of the regular host vs professional operator figures on the site), then Airbnb itself is every bit as much a threat to the survival of homesharers and small, entire home hosts, as any government clampdowns or draconian regulations could ever be.
I've watched - and lived - this Airbnb story playing out here in Dublin from the very beginning Rob. From when 99% of people had never even heard of them, to when they were (briefly) celebrated in the media for opening their non-US HQ and creating 500 jobs here (no mention of the fact that they were also benefitting to the tune of billions, courtesy of our shameful tax loopholes that allow mega rich, mega powerful global corporations to avoid paying a cent of their rightful tax burdens, by funnelling their non-US business through Dublin), and right up to the present day, when you'd rather tell someone you're an internet pornstar, than publicly admit to being one of those Airbnb pariahs, whose selfish actions are massively exacerbating the homeless crisis.
Sadly, that's the reality of how deeply unpopular - hated almost - Airbnb, and by extension, Airbnb hosts, have become here. And our situation is simply mirroring a phenomenon that's spreading like wildfire in cities across the planet. Airbnb is anything but welcome in an ever-increasing number of cities, and that same vehement anti-Airbnb sentiment is starting to be felt now in smaller towns and cities too, like ripples on a pond.
Make no mistake - Airbnb's arrogance and blatant lack of respect for the cities in which it seeks to operate - typified by their absolute refusal to provide local authorities with the data they require in order to adequately assess the true impact on their cities, coupled with the company's apparent misconception that Airbnb is above the laws that apply to everyone else - is the number one factor in their increasingly dismal outcomes in regulatory battles in every corner of the globe. (The number 2 factor being the rampant, unchecked anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood disruption of unmonitored Airbnb guests -invariably guests of "professional" property management companies, cowboy operators and absentee hosts - who couldn't give a sh*t what their guests are getting up to, as long as the wonga keeps rolling in)
The millenial tech bros got it badly wrong with their presumptuous, entitled "Belong Anywhere" ideology. Well no, actually, it doesn't work like that. You have to prove your worth and earn the right to be accepted and to "belong" in any established community. "Belonging" is not an automatic privilege.
You can't expect to just rock up to a party in someone else's manor, invite yourself in, start throwing your weight around and acting like you own the place and have a god-given right to be there, dangerously overcrowd the venue by surreptitiously slipping hordes of troublesome, disruptive interrlopers in through the back door, lie through your teeth about who and how many you've sneaked in, then start disrespecting and abusing the very doormen who hold all the power to decide whether you're allowed stay at the party, or whether your arse is getting slung out the door.
That's never gonna end well. And Airbnb needs to learn a thing or two about being respectful and earning the right to "belong" in other people's communities, and other peoples neighbourhoods. Providing the gatekeepers with the information they require would be a good - and smart - place to start.
