What Happens if You Make a Negative Zoned Picture Negative Zoned Again
"As Invisible Tourists, we want to support locals of the places we visit, not make their lives more difficult." ~ Alyse.
In recent years, the use of Airbnb and other home-stay accommodation has exploded internationally. Sitting on the sidelines with one watchful eye monitoring this trend, as usual I decided to be a bit of a skeptic before jumping on the bandwagon and investigate the little-known facts almost using a service like Airbnb for myself.
Despite its growing popularity there are some pretty troubling issues with Airbnb and similar counterparts, leading many to ask if in that location are any ethical alternatives to Airbnb? Here I'll reveal what information technology's similar to lift the lid on the hidden Pandora's box of this craze – the results may surprise you, every bit they did me!
Yep, loads of people utilise Airbnb all the time without issues and that's fine. Unlike people prioritise different things because there are different types of travellers. Many of my boyfriend travel bloggers could get y'all discounts on your kickoff Airbnb booking and that'due south fine, as well.
In maxim that, at that place is a fourth dimension and a place for these services so I'd rather speak most the unpopular truths that seem to become buried under the discount codes that are worth because before you book a stay with a homestyle accommodation service like Airbnb.
Annotation: I starting time published this commodity in March 2018 and take updated information technology since to reverberate more recent events. Exist certain to read my concluding comments for my overall thoughts on curt-term homestay services.
This guide to Airbnb issues volition cover:
- 8 important reasons to reconsider using services like Airbnb
- What a lack of tourism does to neighbourhoods overrun with Airbnb listings
- Are there any sustainable & ethical alternatives to Airbnb?
- Last whether you should utilize services similar Airbnb
This article forms part of my top strategies for to how to be a responsible a tourist, detailing effective tips towards ethical tourism to benefit visitors and locals akin. It also features in my #1 Amazon New Release book, which outlines my blueprint for what we can exercise as tourists to enrich our travel experiences and avert contributing to issues caused past overtourism.
Important reasons to reconsider using services like Airbnb
I can totally hear y'all questioning my logic… You're thinking, "But, aren't you lot all near travelling like a local and helping people acquire how to not look like a tourist? So what's wrong with renting a local's place on Airbnb? Information technology's harmless and it's cheaper than hotels, correct?"
Ermm, wrong.
There's a proverb, "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it" so truth exist told, I have stayed in an Airbnb before. I was with a group for a girls' getaway and my friend had booked the accommodation on our group's behalf.
The place was fine (although I prefer to accept my own bed rather than share with a friend!) Despite this and combining it with the facts I discuss below, it just wasn't for me and may not be for you lot also.
To analyze, in this opinion piece I'm not referring to traditional Bed and Breakfast (B&B) accommodations. These are completely fine as they are regulated and in areas zoned for tourists. I've stayed in many throughout the UK, Europe, New Zealand & Japan and fully support these businesses.
Let'south start with me asking you a few questions:
- Do you value your precious travel time, hate inconveniences and prefer to play it safe with accommodation rather than put yourself in a position that could have been avoided when you travel?
- Exercise you also prefer to enjoying everything a city has to offer without feeling similar y'all're getting in the style of locals going almost their daily lives?
If you answered yes to these questions, y'all're probable to prefer hotels anyway then this post will probably ostend why y'all don't similar Airbnb either. If you answered no, the beneath facts may convince you why you lot should reconsider using a service like Airbnb for your next trip.
While Airbnb's slogan is "travel similar a local", there are some dark truths that actually brand life more difficult for the locals they claim to support.
Let's get into it!
1. Airbnb could be illegal in the city yous're visiting
This is a pretty surprising and very of import betoken. Just because there are listings for your destination doesn't mean the host and Airbnb are abiding by the local laws. For case, here are some facts that might brand you think twice nearly using Airbnb and similar services in the below major cities.
These are merely a few examples and definitely not the only places where Airbnb is problematic. I highly advise doing some research into your destination if you are considering using Airbnb for your adaptation:
Airbnb problems in New York City, United States
Did you know in 2014 that 72% of reservations fabricated in New York City were illegal?
The New York state attorney full general'due south role released a report on Airbnb listings that revealed this unfortunate fact. Local laws in New York go far illegal to rent an unabridged apartment on Airbnb for less than thirty days, as this helps to keep the long-term supply of property bachelor to locals. Despite this, New York Urban center is one of Airbnb'due south biggest markets where listings under xxx days are available to tourists.
"Airbnb consistently undermines the City's efforts to preserve affordable housing, and regularly attempts to thwart regulations put in identify to protect New York Urban center residents." ~ argument from NYC Council members Helen Rosenthal and Jumaane Williams.
Airbnb problems in Barcelona, Spain
Almost half of holiday rentals in Espana'due south second-largest city are unlicensed according to the quango, which makes them illegal.
In 2016 Barcelona fined Airbnb €600,000 for refusing to adhere to local laws by continuing to advertise unlicensed properties. As a event, Catalonia's majuscule has a squad of inspectors who wander the streets sniffing out illegal rentals using designated apps that cross-reference licences with advertised properties. This helps to identify illegal properties and gives authorities the power close downward the bounds, boot out occupants and fine the owner €threescore,000.
"Barcelona exists for its people. The priority is it'southward a place to live." ~ Janet Sanz, Barcelona Housing Councillor.
TIP: Read my crucial Barcelona travel tips to not look like a tourist when visiting.
Airbnb problems in Paris, France
In 2015, 44% of advertised properties on Airbnb were permanently available for rental, despite laws in France'south capital stating that holiday rentals are capped at only existence available for 120 days of the year.
The survey that revealed this disturbing fact triggered raids beyond Paris and fines of upwardly to €25,000 for hosts. However, the regime are at present looking to increase this fine to €100,000 like Berlin (run across below). Information technology is now necessary for hosts to obtain a registration number from the Town Hall so government can monitor the 120 24-hour interval cap is not exceeded and and then hosts cannot avert paying taxes.
Airbnb problems in Nippon
The contempo explosion of visitors to Japan looking to travel on the cheap meant Airbnb's started popping upward in unzoned areas to capitalise on the new demand.
Being an ultra-conservative country, locals filed an overwhelming number of "tourist pollution" complaints: unruly tourists coming and going at all hours, hosting noisy parties in otherwise serenity neighbourhoods and disrespecting local customs.
In June 2018 the Japanese government resorted to tackling illegal Airbnb and similar homestay accommodations across the country (known as "minpaku") past requiring hosts in legally zoned areas to obtain a minpaku license, placing 180-day quotas on when properties can exist available to rent and shutting down those who did not comply. This crackdown is said to have price Airbnb $10 million.
Issues with Airbnb in Berlin, Germany
Frg's capital got so tired of Airbnb creating a rental belongings shortage for locals they created a law entitled "Zweckentfremdungsverbot"…
What a mouthful, right! Roughly translating to "Anti-Airbnb" this law bans short-term leasing of backdrop to tourists without a urban center permit. Hosts in Berlin can be fined up to €100,000 for disobeying this law and you could be left without accommodation if your host is disrepair.
Airbnb bug throughout Europe
In 2019, ten European cities banded together and sent a joint letter of the alphabet to the European Commission highlighting the flaws of services like Airbnb. Cities who suffered from "explosive growth" of curt-term Airbnb listings – Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna – demanded the Commission address this upshot during their adjacent agenda.
Many Other Destinations: Illegal Subletting
Another disturbing trend with Airbnb is illegal subletting. Did y'all know recent statistics in Australia revealed that 35% of Airbnb listings are by people who don't fifty-fifty own the holding, and exercise so without the knowledge of their landlord?
"Retrieve of what yous'd say to a neighbour if they were to enquire who you are and why you lot're staying at that place… Awkward." ~ Alyse.
While tenants may non see an issue with secretly renting out their spare room on Airbnb for extra cash, in that location are risks involved for both the tenant and belongings owner. What the tenant fails realise is they could actually exist in breach of their leasing agreement by having additional people reside in the holding.
This leads to exceeding the number of people residing on the premises, handing out security keys without authorization, no applicable insurance for issues related to subleasing, more issues regarding illegal subletting here. A tenant subletting without the permission of the belongings owner can result in eviction.
ii. Airbnb can accept negative impacts on locals' quality of life
Tourists hiring a place on Airbnb to savor a "cheaper" vacation really pushes rent prices up for locals who need to alive in the city. Tourists are visitors competing with locals for accommodation. The only difference is locals need it long-term, but hosts can accuse tourists more for brusque-term stays and so this is way more appealing to some.
For instance in 2018 on the Castilian island of Palma de Mallorca, tourist lets sharply increased by 50% due to demand, which in turn atomic number 82 to residential rents rising past twoscore%. This made housing unaffordable for nearly local residents and pushed them out. As a outcome t he island voted to ban Airbnb listings to make housing affordable for residents who needed to live and work.
Making the witting determination to save a few bucks for a trip of your choice should not come at the expense of an actual local'southward way of life. Equally invisible tourists nosotros want to support locals of the places we visit, not make their lives more than hard!
Residents are also concerned and complain to Airbnb about the constant stream of different tourists bumping their luggage upward and downwardly stairs in apartment blocks likewise equally coming and going at all hours. For long-term residents it'southward easy to understand that all the thumping and dissonance is jump to get annoying.
As someone who lives in a metropolis where over 200,000 properties sit vacant due to landlords non renting them to locals (or anyone at all), I've seen first-hand how this has negatively impacted the rental market by causing prices to skyrocket equally long-term rentals for locals become deficient. It isn't really off-white (or ethical) on the local population trying to get by.
It's as well becoming known that some Airbnb hosts are treating their rentals equally businesses. Padlocks or combination touchpads on doors rather than keys, instructions stuck around the belongings and "No Smoking" signs are dead giveaways that the Airbnb is being treated as a permanent vacation rental, which I mentioned previously nether indicate #1 is probably an illegal listing. What happened to merely renting out a spare room?
3. There's no reception, housekeeping or room service
Before you dismiss me every bit a total snob, hear me out! Hotels employ dozens of locals to have intendance of things like housekeeping, reception, concierge services, kitchenhands and the similar to continue the identify running smoothly. To me, providing locals with jobs is quite important and staying in a hotel supports this crusade.
Additionally, the lack of a reception expanse with an Airbnb means checking in and out with your host may not be flexible plenty to suit your travel plans, as I'll expand on in signal #4 below.
Another downside is there'southward no place to leave your luggage afterwards checking out, either! The small conveniences that come up with hotels are quite convenient, aren't they?
4. You're at the complete mercy of your host
Even if a room is showing available, the host has the right to change their heed and cancel your booking at a moment's notice. If you lot're like me and prefer to exist prepared and organised, being left in limbo a few days before a trip – and all other accommodation in the surface area being sold out – literally sounds like my idea of a nightmare.
In another example, imagine arriving at your Airbnb only to observe two people already there hanging defunction, a TV left face-down on the lounge and a strong dog odour throughout. Animate being fur, hair and dust were all over the house, it clearly hadn't been cleaned in very long fourth dimension, mouse droppings were in the kitchen and other accommodation options nearby were all sold out. Hither'southward how Airbnb treated these guests in this actual situation.
Airbnb accept thousands of complaints nigh how they can't really do anything to assist guests who are left stranded. In contrast, hotels have a lot to lose from this and will notice y'all a room or recoup you somehow if they've taken your money.
Let's not forget the potential issue of your host running late to come across yous to exchange keys. This unaccounted-for delay could seriously affect your travel plans and may atomic number 82 to you lot missing a crucial flying or train to your next destination. With a hotel, checking in and out times are fabricated clear and during that period there is always someone at that place when you lot demand to leave so it's simple to programme your journeys.
At that place isn't always time to await around for someone to race from ane side of the city to the other to collect keys!
Personally, I like to slumber in for every bit long equally possible before having to get upwardly and ready whilst I'g on holiday. With many Airbnbs hosts crave you to do the washing upward, accept out the rubbish and may leave you with other obligations you need to fulfil before you leave. I practise all that at home and would rather forget about that during a holiday – thankfully a hotel will have your dorsum here then y'all tin spend more time out exploring.
v. Do tourists really need an entire kitchen (and house)?
A lot of the time tourists don't actually need an entire house or flat with a kitchen when they're travelling short-term. To me, visiting a new place is all virtually getting out in that location and part of this is experiencing local, authentic nutrient.
In plow this helps to support local jobs and businesses. Cooking some noodles in an Airbnb in an effort to save money does not. Sorry, but it's true! Hotels practise a good plenty chore of providing the basic amenities needed for a stay.
Additionally, booking an unabridged apartment or house on Airbnb means tourists could be inadvertently taking away long-term accommodation from a local. If the rental is being run as a business organization by a company who has multiple property listings, it'southward commonly wise to steer away from information technology every bit it goes against the original idea that Airbnb was founded on – a property owner renting out a spare room.
half dozen. Privacy is never guaranteed
So, your Airbnb host has too immune friends to crash at their identify during your stay and failed to mention it at any betoken. This may put a damper on the romantic weekend away you had planned with your partner as the intimate moments you were hoping for may not be then intimate later all!
Recently, some stories have emerged about Airbnb hosts using sneaky hidden cameras in the bedrooms of their rentals. If that oddly-placed object or random smoke warning appears to have a little webcam lens on closer inspection, yous can be certain that affair is hooked up to the internet and the host is watching your every move.
Alternatively, in a hotel you're never going to exist left surprised with an unexpected stranger when you lot come back to your room afterward a long mean solar day of sight-seeing and the likelihood of being spied on in your room is almost non-existent. A hotel doesn't need to spy on y'all because they have insurance cover. It's never ok to film someone without their consent.
7. Lack of safety and security regulations
Consequent standards and regulations are lacking across Airbnb rentals as they are basically individual backdrop. Due to this hosts don't take to follow the same strict regulations that hotels do like burn, security and rubber. What fire and other types of hazards are there in your rental? Tin you tell from the photos?
Equally mentioned earlier, illegal subletting sees a tenant distribute unauthorised copied keys to short-term visitors, resulting in unknown people in a residential block having admission to building amenities. This tin can be a major security business organization for other residents in the edifice who are there legally.
People who list on Airbnb also don't have to pay for the aforementioned insurances that hotels practice, therefore if anything were to happen Airbnb may not cover y'all at all. This also includes theft of your cash/valuables from the holding, whether information technology was from the host, other guests or as a upshot of a break-in. Is there fifty-fifty a prophylactic or secure place to shop your valuables during your stay?
Additionally, some of the backdrop may not be very child friendly which is sometimes only possible to be discovered on inflow.
8. Bait and switch
If you lot're not familiar with this sneaky tactic, bait and switch refers to the generally illegal act of "baiting" a guest into paying for a rental that is substituted for an junior i after down the track. The intent is never to provide you the rental in the slap-up location with amazing photos you paid for.
If your host is beingness a bit shady, they may contact you lot close to your inflow date to inform you of the change and then yous're fabricated to recall you're left with no other pick but to accept the sub-standard accommodation they offer instead, sometimes fifty-fifty for more coin! Know your rights if this happens to y'all.
You're non obligated to have their new offer. If your host is asking you lot to switch without officially changing the reservation on Airbnb, you'll need to ask the host to abolish your reservation and so you can get a full refund. If you accept farther issues, yous'll need to immediately call Airbnb so they tin resolve the problem for you lot or find some other place to stay, which may testify difficult if all other accommodation in the area is sold out at the time.
This fraudulent tendency is becoming more than and more common with Airbnb. Sure it'due south also possible this can happen with smaller hotels equally well, but is less likely as hotels have much more to lose by participating in this dirty practice.
You can read some Airbnb bait and switch stories here and here to give you an idea of what could happen.
What a lack of tourism does to neighbourhoods overrun with Airbnb listings
As we all know, in 2020 tourism completely ground to a halt due to a global upshot that shall non be named. This helped to starkly amplify the bug caused by brusk-term rentals for even the most stubborn of deniers.
Allow'due south examine the knock-on furnishings caused past the absence of tourism in destinations that had high percentages of Airbnb listings.
Airbnb issues in Lisbon, Portugal
In the early months of 2020, there were 22,000 Airbnb listings in Lisbon. A sudden lack of tourists meant the majority of these sat empty for months.
Urban geographer LuĂs Mendes from Living in Lisbon stated, "[2020] has helped betrayal the negative aspects of Portugal'south recovery from the financial crunch, which was driven past real estate and tourism rather than a focus on the bones needs of local people."
This excellent article about overtourism in Lisbon, Portugal highlights the need and urgency for sustainable cultural tourism if you're interested in learning more about the topic. Unfortunately, this issue is not unique to Lisbon and is further proof of why being an invisible tourist whilst travelling is win-win for anybody.
Airbnb problems in Barcelona, Spain
Local authorities are seeking to repossess empty short-terms rentals. If vacant properties don't re-enter the long-term rental market for local residents, new legislation allows authorities to purchase them outright at 50% of the marketplace value.
The plan for seized properties is to be rented by the city every bit public and subsidised housing, while potentially fining the owners from € 90,000- € 900,000 for backdrop left vacant for 2 years.
Airbnb issues in Athens, Greece
According to local residents in Kaisariani, Athens, their neighbourhood really became a "tourist hotbed" full of Airbnbs rather than a residential area.
Airbnb issues in Paris, French republic
As one of Airbnb's top destinations globally, tourism to Paris took a huge hit. According to the Deputy Mayor of Paris, the city "needs to use the pandemic to address affordable housing and supply.
In the four central arrondissements of Paris, a quarter of all properties are at present no longer homes only purely brusk-term rentals for tourists." As a result the metropolis is planning to hold a referendum on the future of Airbnb listings.
Airbnb bug in Dublin, Republic of ireland
Ane of my Ireland travel tips for tourists is to avoid Airbnb. Due to increased demand in brusk-term listings from tourists and limited supply, Dublin saw rents for local residents skyrocket and more than double from 2011 – 2019. The sudden lack of tourists in 2020 meant 64% of short-term Airbnb listings in Dublin rushed to enter the long-term rental market instead. Keen news for locals, at least!
Are at that place any sustainable & ethical alternatives to Airbnb?
Now we've examined all the issues with unregulated homestay accommodation services, it begs the question – are there any ethical alternatives to Airbnb? The answer is yeah! There are sustainable services that can be used to aid avoid contributing to overtourism problems. All it takes is a look back to the fourth dimension before the sharing economy took off!
Read my detailed guide to ethical alternatives to Airbnb for responsible tourists that really benefit locals, rather than leaving their neighbourhoods empty shells of their former selves.
Concluding why yous should reconsider services similar Airbnb
Sure, at that place certainly are benefits of using Airbnb if it's washed in an ethical and legal style.
Thousands of travellers use the platform without always having an outcome. I'm not going to dispute that and I'one thousand certainly non proverb ALL hosts are bad – it's neither fair nor accurate to paint everyone with the same brush. Besides, this stance piece is not virtually that. It'southward about questioning whether a service similar this should be allowed to keep unregulated.
There is a fourth dimension and a place for homestay accommodation. For instance, in rural areas where accommodation choices are slim services like Airbnb can actually help locals. In major cities where there already is plenty of regulated accommodation, whole property rentals by hosts listing multiple backdrop should exist avoided in guild to help preserve local life and their culture.
If brusque-term rentals accept taught united states annihilation, information technology's now very clear that they create the likes of a horizontal hotel that spans the breadth of a city, pushing out local residents.
I practise remember that initially the idea of Airbnb was fantastic a few years agone, where hosts would share a room of their home with a visitor who wished to experience the city like a local. Unfortunately, in that location are always people looking to make a quick buck, exploit the system and ruin the feel for everyone.
Every bit someone who values time more annihilation else when travelling, the explosion of illegal listings, risks and ethical problems associated with Airbnb and the like practise not outweigh the benefits of staying in a hotel for me. Considering that a pair of YouTubers also pranked Airbnb past list a dollhouse and made $3,000 worth of bookings, information technology actually begs the question of how much listings are actually checked.
By ignoring local laws, causing negative impacts on locals' quality of life and lack of consequent standards, I believe unregulated homestay adaptation is unethical and I'm deplorable to say for these reasons cannot support it.
What are your thoughts? Do you feel the same? Let me know in the comments below! If y'all found this article helpful or you learnt something new, please share it or take a expect at my popular travel guides and itineraries and my book for more than ways to assistance you Not look like a tourist on your next trip.
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Until next time,
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Paris pivot image credit: Chris Karidis
Airbnb logo used nether Wikimedia Commons
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Source: https://www.theinvisibletourist.com/why-you-shouldnt-use-airbnb-issues-you-didnt-know/
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