Monthly short-term rental news roundup – July 2019
This month in short-term letting news – Follow the money, and every landlord’s nightmare.
Here’s the scoop:
- Evidence is mounting that most of the activity on Airbnb and other sites comes from professional hosts earning millions of dollars a year. That means most of the platforms’ revenue comes from the same hosts. With so much money to be made, no wonder criminal gangs are getting in on the action. It’s so important to separate out the Pros from the Mums and Dads when regulating or even measuring short-term lets. Pity no platforms will break down the data sensibly so we can see.
- It’s not just gangs causing trouble at short-term lets. This month there were brawls in Victoria, wild parties and shootings in Georgia, and a murder in Florida. Then there’s every landlord’s nightmare – tenant illegally sublets on Airbnb, guest causes thousands of dollars in damage to the property.
- Short-term lets continue to spark community opposition, with protests in Canada and Arizona this month (including one city where 20% of the housing stock is short-term lets). A city in Tennessee votes to ban private short-term lets completely. These types of outright bans are happening more often lately, because everyone wants to avoid ending up like Paris, where 30,000 fewer homes are available and schools are closing in some areas because of all the short-term rentals.
STR Site of the Month
Swimply is Airbnb for swimming pools. So instead of renting a house or room for the night, you can rent a pool by the hour. Sound harmless? It won’t be. It lowers the bar for wild parties to a few dollars per person (the average price is $45 an hour). Coming to your neighbourhood or apartment block soon.
