When we owned our B&B in southern Oregon, the phenomenon of Airbnb was just burgeoning on to the hospitality scene, but we could see the writing on the wall.
Airbnb: A Hotly Debated Issue
I’m not sure there’s another topic in the travel/hospitality industry that is more hotly debated than Airbnb. As innkeepers we were understandably concerned about the competition – and really, it wasn’t exactly an even playing field.
As licensed innkeepers we underwent rigorous yearly inspections by the health and fire departments and we had to be insured. And, of course, as a business we were required to collect and pay taxes, and we had to pay income tax on the business income. We also were required to have one designated parking space for each guest room. None of these mandates were required of Airbnb hosts.
Small City Changes
Residents in our small City of Ashland, OR, were beginning to rent rooms in their homes, and many rented out their entire home as so many of the homes in Ashland had absentee owners. Homeowners saw it as a way to generate income and saw no reason why they could not do so, because after all it was their home. At the time the city had no regulations on homeowners and as a result many of them were renting rooms illegally, seemingly without concern for the consequences, i.e. liability insurance, disruption to the neighborhood, lack of parking, etc.
Fast forward five years and the City now has developed regulations (based on zoning) for hosts and there is a full-time code enforcer on staff. As we understand it, to legally operate an Airbnb space in Ashland, the property must be shared-space. One can rent a room in one’s home, or one can rent one’s entire home as a vacation home, as long as the owner lives on site.
Sadly, several of the B&B’s in Ashland have since sold, often in part because of stringent mandates for operation and the competition of the increased number of vacation rentals. It all circles back to the uneven playing field.
Airbnb: Yay or Nay?
I am not someone who can just lie down and sleep anywhere or anytime. I am – somewhat unfortunately – very particular about our accommodations while traveling. Because of this I tend to lean toward hotel stays for the comfort, amenities and cleanliness. With Airbnb one never truly knows what one will get; the difference between what is photographed and what is reality can be startling. And, one has to pay in advance at the time of booking, which is a practice we don’t relish.
TIP: When you book with Airbnb or any other site that requires payment in advance, triple check the cancellation policy. We never book a stay unless there is a flexible cancellation policy.
- “The disadvantages as a user? 1. You don’t always know exactly what you’ll get until you get there (examine the reviews and read between the lines! It’s a bit of science). A bad apartment can be a nightmare. 2. It requires more planning, especially setting up the initial check in, 3. You have to pay for your apartment up front, Airbnb acts like a bank (a pet peeve of mine).” Frank & Lissette of The Travels of BBQ Boy & Spanky
Over the past three years we’ve booked five stays and all but one were successful. Our not-so-successful stay took place in Lyon, France. Kudos to Airbnb though for stepping up and refunding our stay.
How Many Sides Are There?
For travelers, Airbnb can be super affordable, to the point where it makes travel possible for so many. This can be especially true for long-term travelers who stay for a month or more in one place. Renting an apartment is so much more practical, and affordable, than booking a hotel for a month. And, for many travelers who prefer to prepare their own meals, for personal preference, health or dietary issues, having a kitchen is key.
- “As full-time travellers we couldn’t live without Airbnb. The advantages: you can rent an apartment, with a full-kitchen, balcony, 2 bedrooms…any sort of apartment you want, almost anywhere you want. It’s having a home wherever you go. And if you stay a week, or even better a month (as we do), you’ll save up to 50-60% off the nightly rate. Airbnb has made our kind of travel easy, affordable, and easy to plan and book.” Frank & Lissette of The Travels of BBQ & Spanky
- “…You get to stay with a local who can offer advice about the area and you get perks such as access to a kitchen, washing machine and even cute pets. Then there’s the price. Travelling as a couple, we find that in expensive parts of the world such as Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, you get far more for your money using Airbnb than booking hotels or even hostels.” Amy & Andrew of Our Big Fat Travel Adventure
Face to Face with Negativity
But, there’s another side to the issue. While traveling in Portugal in 2017 we spent a day in the City of Coimbra and it was the first time we actually came face to face with the negative impact of Airbnb on the local population. Landlords can earn far more money renting their apartments for short stays rather than by renting long-term with a lease. It’s forcing locals out of their neighborhoods. And, in Coimbra – a university town – it’s making it difficult for students to find affordable housing.
But, on the other side (how many sides are there?) tourism supports the economy of the city.
A Crack Down
More and more cities are cracking down on the number of licensed Airbnb hosts, and/or banning all accommodations in certain areas of the city. Madrid is banning stays in the city’s historic center. New York City has banned any stays for less than 30 days. In Reykjavik, Iceland apartment owners cannot rent out their property for more than 90 days per year.
- “On a macro level, Airbnb is not a good thing. We’ve seen too many popular places become tourist ghettos – where blocks of apartments in the city center have been converted to Airbnb apartments. They’ve resulted in higher prices, locals having to move out, and a gutting of the authenticity of many city centers. I fully understand why some cities have put bans or restrictions on Airbnb.” Frank & Lissette of The Travels of BBQ Boy & Spanky
Jacking Up The Prices
In June of 2017 we left the United States bound for Europe. Our first stop was to be Lagos, Portugal but we could not find accommodations in the city that even began to be reasonable. Even shared spaces in hostels – which, let’s face it we’re way beyond the hostel phase – were outrageously expensive. Fortunately, for us, our Lagos based expat friends extended an invitation to stay with them. Lagos is a beach town and the population swells for the summer so owners can jack up the prices of what would normally be reasonable rental rates.
- “When we first started looking at the Algarve as a possible base in May of 2015, we went through AirBnB to rent an apartment for June and July so we could check out the area. With only 2 weeks to go before we wanted to arrive, we had few affordable choices for that time period and NONE in Lagos. We ended up with a 2 BR, 1 BA apt in Ferreiras, a small village near Albufeira, and paid about €1000 for June. There were 2 weeks available in July and the rent was raised to €750 per WEEK. In fact, we cut our time short in PT and headed back to the US to start the application because we couldn’t find anything cheaper in July!” Anita & Dick – No Particular Place to Go
Even Rick Steves Weighed In
I have to say Rick Steves is my go to source for any and all travel information. I’m also a big BIG fan of Samantha Brown but Rick has Europe down cold, so I always turn to him for all Europe related research. As a matter of fact, the other day I was watching his tour of Dresden, Germany and I happened to notice on his site a clip about this whole hotly debated topic.
What’s the Answer?
- “Tourism, at the end of the day, doesn’t regulate itself. It’s up to individual governments to, for instance, regulate how much tourist accommodation they allow in their cities. All we can do as travellers, bar staying at home, is try to travel as responsibly as possible. Will I stop using Airbnb? Probably not, but I do hope the Airbnb restrictions relieve some of these housing and mass tourism problems.” Amy & Andrew of Our Big Fat Travel Adventure
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I feel like its difficult for local governments to regulate the use of airbnb by local homeowners because its online. In our part of the world, airbnb doesn’t really affect locals from leasing houses long-term. I think local governments in tourist areas badly affected by airbnb should have some kind of regulation like ordering airbnb owners to register their houses with business permits.
Thank you for your thoughts, Erika Ann. I believe more and more countries are now mandating regulations. We spent two weeks in Ljubljana in 2017 (Airbnb apartment) and the owner told us she does have to report everything to the government.
An interesting question to be sure. At the campground our cabins are rented through us as well as being marketed through Airbnb and from that end I’m not a fan. Working to actually find a contact when there is an issue with them is more challenging than my past life of trying to work with the airlines! From a consumer point of view we have rented them a few times…. some with great success, and a few dismal failures when they were absolutely not as photographed listed. Certainly having them be required to follow regulations is a step in the right direction. Thanks for sharing your thoughts from a former innkeeper.
And, thank you Rhonda for sharing your insight as well. I bet as the reputation of the campground grows, you’ll have a lot of repeat reservations and you won’t have to book them through Airbnb. We pretty much feel we dodged the Airbnb bullet by selling when we did, it would have definitely made life a bit more challenging.
Great post Patti, it’s really interesting to hear your thoughts as a former B&B owner. We are continuing to use Airbnb at the moment as we’re travelling in the US and there literally aren’t any affordable options otherwise. However, we now tend to just rent rooms in homes rather than entire apartments and we’ve noticed that many of the places we’ve stayed have had licenses displayed in the rooms, which means regulations are working. Still, I think it’ll be a few years before the whole issue gets sorted.
Thank you, Amy, for sharing your insights and experiences with Airbnb.
We have stayed in Airbnb properties many times and have always been very happy with the chosen accommodation. Recently we rented a stunning 3 bedroom villa in Tobago. I can totally understand the negative issues involved, but there are also many positives. Thanks for giving a balanced view. For now we will continue to use Airbnb 🙂
There are a lot of positives, Gilda, no doubt. Glad you’ve enjoyed good experiences renting through Airbnb.
Very pertinent post.
It’s pretty simple: great for users and for the apartment owners who benefit, but no so great for locals who see the market changing around them because of us. In the end it’s the demand that causes the problem and government officials have to regulate that.
Thanks for including us in the post Patti!
Frank (bbqboy)
Frank recently posted…Random Acts of Kindness when you travel
That pretty much sums it up, Frank. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts/experiences for this post. Greatly appreciated.
Over the years, we’ve booked more than 40 stays with AirBnb and are fans of the online service for many reasons: it’s easy to use, we like the features part where we can see at a glance what conveniences an apartment will provide and booking stays from one week to over a month can offer some substantial savings. We read and rely on the reviews religiously and, one of the few times we went with a new listing, AirBnB promptly reimbursed us after we provided photos of a totally disastrous rental in Cartagena, Colombia. For long-term and full-time travelers, AirBnB fills a niche that hotels and BnB’s can’t. That said, we do see it’s negative impact on full-time renters in the highly popular Algarve Region of Portugal where we live now for both the local population (whose income is usually substantially less than the tourist population) and for foreign residents who would love to live in the area (and contribute to the economy) but can’t find a year-around rental. Loved this post, Patti which was thoughtful and honest as well about AirBnB’s impact on other tourist industries like BnB’s who are required to meet city and state licensing regulations and pay taxes. You’ve definitely showed both sides. Thanks for including us among your sources!
Thanks for the feedback, Anita, as well as sharing your experiences with Airbnb for this post. Greatly appreciated!
I have had great and terrible luck with airb&b. I stayed in an amazing apartment in Paris for 5 weeks. Never could have afforded that amount of time in a hotel. The view, breathtaking. The apartment beyond superb. But then I stayed in a place in Chicago that the towels were obviously out of the dust bin and the floor was filthy. It’s a risk, but you face the same thing in a hotel too. We once stayed at a very pricey hotel in Sydney, only to be awakened to jack hammers on Saturday morning. There had been no mention of construction on their website. And management did nothing about it. There is a really helpful review on TripAdvisor now.
Valid point, Linda. There’s no guarantee in any situation, it’s about traveling responsibly and making sure you’ve got your bases covered when the unexpected happens.
We have never booked with Airbnb, but we have used VRBO and HomeAway, when we need more space than a hotel room provides. We have never been disappointed with either of those services. I do understand the issue, and feel sorry for folks who are being pushed out of their space because tourists will pay higher fees. Eventually, the industry/practice will have to be regulated. Until then, it will get worse, and I will stick with what I trust. Having said that, I must admit that we are big fans of Hotwire and have gotten some fantastic deals on hotel rooms around the world. You must pay before the property is revealed, but if you select your perimeters carefully, you have a good idea of what you will get. Of the dozens of times we have gone this route, we have had just one bad experience. Hotwire credited our account for future use, which was a fair remedy.
We’ve actually rented with VRBO as well, we rented a great apartment in Prague through the site. Very similar standards. We haven’t yet booked a hotwire deal, but it’s good to know that it’s worked for you. I’m always hesitant to commit $$ to the unknown. 🙂