I whole heartedly support the EU regulations on this!
As hosts and travelers who have thoroughly enjoyed the engagement with hosts and guests — and the unique homes — experienced in accommodations hosted by the home owners (both BnB / “home stay” style and whole house vacation rentals where the host is absent, but it’s their home) I am increasingly uneasy and unenthusiastic about the commercialization of Air BnB to allow commercial operations. It breaks the spirit and the trust of the original Air BnB concept and it is leading to serious housing problems in some communities where investors are subletting numerous properties and taking them off the home rental housing market in order to profit off the vacation rental market.
As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t own and reside — at least part of the year — in the property you list on Air BnB then you should be relegated to a separate category and charged a higher rate. Many people really do not want, nor are they suited to, the personal interaction of the Air BnB experience — and that is where the commercial establishments have their own market...so let them stay in their own commercial category and keep the unique Air BnB niche for those who understand, respect and seek it rather than simply creating a cheap rental market for everyone. I certainly do NOT relish the idea of hosting people who have nothing to offer and no interest in the friendly connection espoused by the original Air BnB mission simply looking for a “cheap” room. I also cringe to think that the interpersonal interactions would be seen necessarily as lacking boundary issues since it’s the SPIRIT of the engagement and NOT necessarily the time or depth that matters. We have rented to and from people we never met face-to-face, but with whom we still made a connection due to shared interests — and a shared living space. Being someone’s home IS uniquely personal and very different from a commercial establishment!
The practice of profiting off multiple, subleased properties on Air BnB is disturbing for many reasons, yet it is promoted and “secrets to success” are proffered by numerous individuals who expect to be paid for their “expertise”; it leads to destructive competition in the local markets for all Air BnB hosts; it negatively impacts local neighborhoods when there is a constant stream of strangers in and out; and it deleteriously impacts the local housing market by decreasing the often already tight rental housing market for families and individuals.
Sadly, this is yet another instance of the damage done by a culture in the USA — and infecting the global market — that embraces and promotes greed rather than respecting the intangibles that truly promote quality of life. Bravo to the EU for doing the right thing! It is entirely possible — and preferable — to succeed by applying principles and limitations that promote, rather than destroy, the critical interactions that make our homes, our neighborhoods and our communities worth living in.
