# HomeAway, the Airbnb Alternative



## MULTIZ321

Growing Quietly in Airbnb's Shadow - by Miguel Helft/ Tech/ Fortune/ cnn.com

The difference between HomeAway and its better known home rental rival? Profit.





A HomeAway listing in Cape Coral, Fla.


Richard


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## MichaelColey

I had never heard of Airbnb until recently.

VRBO is another big one.


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## djs

All is great until you rent your place out for someone to have a Sex Party


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## SMHarman

Another one good for Cape Cod and Florida Rentals (I dunno either), is www.WeNeedAVacation.com

EDIT - OK they seem to have given up on the Florida side and focus on just the cape now.


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## bobpark56

MichaelColey said:


> I had never heard of Airbnb until recently.
> 
> VRBO is another big one.



Homeaway acquired VRBO back in 2006. See http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2006/11/13/daily2.html


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## MichaelColey

Wow!  I never would have known.  I've visited both sites (Homeaway and VRBO) and have a friend who rents their family shore home through VRBO.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Tests Cleaning, Key Handoff, Airport Transportation & Other Hospitality Services - by Ryan Lawler/ TechCrunch.com

"Airbnb is trying to find new ways to encourage guests to stay at its listings, and that could include a whole new set of amenities. Thanks to the hiring of new head of hospitality Chip Conley, the company is experimenting with a whole bunch of services in different markets that could improve stays for both hosts and guests..."







Richard


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## Beefnot

I do prefer airbnb's business model over the others, and its website is much more user friendly to me.


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## pedro47

Thanks for sharing a new alternative for taking a vacation.


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## RuralEngineer

*AirBnB vs Homeaway*

AirBnB has been working for me better then homeway.  Don't know why.

Stephen


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## Passepartout

Haven't tried AirBnB, but have had several very nice and successful rentals through vrbo, and have one pending through Homeaway.

Like timeshares, it sure beats staying in a hotel.

Jim


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## jfbookers

*Size matters*

And unlike most timeshares many VRBO properties can house BIG groups


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## bobpark56

*Fees*

Be aware when comparing prices that airbnb adds a processing fee, whereas VRBO does not. Also, my impression (I could be wrong) is that airbnb postings more often add a cleaning fee.


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## Passepartout

jfbookers said:


> And unlike most timeshares many VRBO properties can house BIG groups



True. The one we have pending has 5 bedrooms, a pool, a caretaker/maid and 5000 sq. ft.


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## MichaelColey

We rented one that I think was a 5 bedroom.  This particular home had prices based on how many rooms you needed (or how many people you had), and they basically just locked the doors to the bedrooms that we didn't pay for.

From our fairly limited experience (a couple rentals, and quite a bit of searching), most of the listings on both VRBO and HomeAway had cleaning fees and other charges.  By the time we added all the charges, most of the time it just wasn't worth it to us (thus quite a bit of searching but just a couple rentals!).

You also have to keep in mind that they are rental homes rather than timeshares.  You'll likely have a real hodge podge in the kitchen (often better than a timeshare).  You'll have no organized activities.  You'll have no mid-week cleaning.  Sometimes you'll have to provide your own linens, toilet paper, towels, etc.  It's much less consistent than a timeshare.  They typically don't take credit cards.  And if you have maintenance issues, it's not like they can move you to another unit.  We had maintenance issues several times with one rental (A/C kept going out, in summer).  They were slow to get it looked at.  The maintenance man came out twice and it was never fixed during our stay.  And they didn't refund any of our money.  We had paid with a check, so we had no leverage to encourage them to make things right.

Still, it's a good alternative, especially if there's not a timeshare in the area.


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## bobpark56

The comment on no mid-week cleaning is not totally correct. We have twice had every-day cleaning included in the price, once in Mexico, once in Spain; once on a VRBO rental, once with airbnb.


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## MichaelColey

There will be exceptions, but it's much more rare with rental homes.


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## MULTIZ321

This is $10 Billion-Dollar Airbnb's First-Ever Pitch Deck  - by Alyson Shontell/ Tech/ BusinessInsider.com

"Airbnb is reportedly raising a round of financing that will value the company at $10 billion and make each of its three young founders billionaires..."

Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Agrees to Collect 14% Hotel Tax in San Francisco, as New York Negotiations Drag On - by 
Jeff John Roberts/ Regulation/ San Francisco/ Gigaom.com

"Airbnb’s “sharing economy” business, which lets people rent out their homes for short times, is starting to resemble the traditional economy in a number of ways.

Airbnb insists it’s not in the hotel business, but that won’t stop it from collecting hotel tax. In a ground-breaking announcement, the company on Monday declared it will begin collecting taxes on behalf of its hosts in San Francisco and Portland.

The new policy could help Airbnb make peace with city officials, many of whom are hostile to its “sharing economy” business model. The tax policy will also let Airbnb’s network of hosts, who rent out their homes for short periods of time, gain firm legal footing..."


Richard


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## Beefnot

I think the 14% SF tax will compress host prices. Less revenue for hosts.


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## lch

Interesting news about the new policy to begin collecting taxes in SF and Portland. We are renting a house in OR this August through airbnb. I agree, this new policy has the potential to make hosting and renting in those areas much less appealing. It seems this could backfire on airbnb if competitors (vrbo, etc.) aren't charging taxes.


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## thinze3

We have used Homeaway since July 2010 for the rental of our vacation home (see signature).  VRBO was too chaotic while Homeaway was much easier to navigate.  We also got a much higher "platinum" listing with Homeaway due to the fact that VRBO had nearly 10 times more listings at the time.

About 2 years ago, when Homeaway offered to give me a VRBO "platinum" listing for only $300 more with the renewal of my Homeaway listing, I jumped on it.  This was a huge savings.  Then sometime last year Homeaway began to really morph the VRBO website  to be more like the Homeaway website, to the point that I now only have to maintain a single website, and the changes are carried over through all of the national and worldwide listings.

I am not sure what the mention of cleaning fees and and taxes are all about.  You pretty much cannot rent a private home anywhere with paying sales taxes unless you are doing so illegally.  The taxes must be collected by the owner/manager and paid to the state.  My home charges hotel 15% tax, which is the amount set by the state and local government.  If a website has to start collecting the taxes directly, because the owners aren't doing it, then I say more power to them.  The taxes need to be paid.

It is standard to charge a cleaning fee when you rent a home, and you must expect that when doing a search online.  This is the case whether you rent directly from the owner or from a management company.  Consequently, weekly rentals are much cheaper than shorter stay on a nightly rate valuation.


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## sue1947

All of the Homeaway and VRBO listings I've used or looked at include HK and taxes (Oregon, CA and WA).  If a listing doesn't mention them, I assume they are either new and inexperienced or a scam artist and avoid them.  

Sue


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## Beefnot

sue1947 said:


> All of the Homeaway and VRBO listings I've used or looked at include HK and taxes (Oregon, CA and WA). If a listing doesn't mention them, I assume they are either new and inexperienced or a scam artist and avoid them.
> 
> Sue


 
Or perhaps housekeeping is absorbed in the rental rate?  Scam artists aside, if someone is inexperienced, does that typically result in problems for the guest such that it makes sense to filter out the listing altoghter?


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## thinze3

When I send someone a quote for a stay, there is a box to click if taxes are included with the nightly rate.  Either way, it must be paid.


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## sue1947

Beefnot said:


> Or perhaps housekeeping is absorbed in the rental rate?  Scam artists aside, if someone is inexperienced, does that typically result in problems for the guest such that it makes sense to filter out the listing altoghter?



How do you tell if it's a scam or not?  If I have multiple choices, I'll deal with somebody with lots of reviews and whose listing indicates a thorough knowledge of the local area and requirements which includes taxes.  How the listing is worded and what is included creates a first impression and determines whether I will pursue it further or not.   So far, I've had lots of choices so I'll stick with those that indicate they have done this before and have a well thought out procedure as well as a knowledge of the local area. 

Sue


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## Beefnot

sue1947 said:


> How do you tell if it's a scam or not? If I have multiple choices, I'll deal with somebody with lots of reviews and whose listing indicates a thorough knowledge of the local area and requirements which includes taxes. How the listing is worded and what is included creates a first impression and determines whether I will pursue it further or not. So far, I've had lots of choices so I'll stick with those that indicate they have done this before and have a well thought out procedure as well as a knowledge of the local area.
> 
> Sue


 
Fair enough. In my case, I don't particularly need my host to know anything about the local area or about whether to collect taxes or about the procedure for that matter. It helps, but not necessary. As long as I am paying via a protected method, I will do my own searches online about the local area, and whether the host pays taxes with the money I've paid them, that's their problem, not mine.


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## Paumavista

*Hadn't Heard of Airbnb*

We use VRBO probably 3 times a year......(but I spend a lot of time checking out and marking spots for my bucket list).  

I'm comfortable with the layout of the site....and I think I've gotten pretty good at knowing how to read a description, look at pictures, and ask the right questions; but it will be interesting to check out a new option.  

I wasn't aware that VRBO and HomeAway were the same.....I know that their listings aren't exactly the same.......or maybe this has changed recently....?


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## easyrider

Just recently looked at airbnb for Europe. It looks really good. I like that I can plan 4-5 nights and head somewhere else. Whats the downside ?

Bill


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## momeason

One downside is after confirmed, you lose a significant processing fee if you cancel.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Takes New Funding at a $10 Billion Valuation - by Jim Edwards/ Tech/ BusinessInsider.com

"Airbnb, the service that lets people rent their houses, apartments and rooms over the Internet to strangers, has taken a $500 million round of new investment, which values the company at a staggering $10 billion, according to TechCrunch..."






Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky

That's an impressive amount of funding.


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb to Start Charging Hotel Taxes in a Handful of Cities - by Ben Trefny/ All Tech Considered/ NPR.org

"...David Hantman, the head of for Airbnb, says the company will soon start collecting and paying taxes in a few cities.

"In Portland and San Francisco and New York, we're looking at pilot projects to help collect and remit these taxes from guests, without the hosts having to worry about all the details," Hantman says..."


I don't think Airbnb is going away any time soon.


Richard


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## isisdave

*What are the taxes used for?*

I'm not opposed to paying or collecting taxes in general, but I'd like to know what they're for. Often, a portion represents sales tax rates, but a further portion is used to promote hotel or convention business or the local convention center. For example, in nearby San Diego, the sales tax rate is 8% but the TOT is 14%.  In years gone by, some of this was used to promote the arts, but I think now it mostly goes to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

My point is that if they're going to collect the same rate from AirBNB type places, they should promote them somehow too.  If not, cut the rate a little.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb And NY Attorney General Prepare to Meet in Court This Week - by Ryan Lawler/ Tech Crunch.com

"Airbnb will finally have its day in court in New York this week, as the first oral arguments related to a subpoena filed by the state’s Attorney General are expected to be heard on Tuesday.

Last fall, the Attorney General filed a subpoena for thousands of records related to hosts in New York in an effort to identify bad actors and illegal activity on the platform.

While Airbnb said that it is also committed to removing bad actors on its website, the company argued that the subpoena is “unreasonably broad” in the amount of information requested by the government, and filed a motion objecting to it.

On Tuesday, the two parties will meet in court to argue each of their positions..."

and in related news:
Airbnb Wipes 2,000 NY Listings Before Court Hearing - by Dara Kerr/ News/ Cnet.com

"As the online vacation rental service prepares to go up against New York’s attorney general, it announces it scrubbed thousands of iffy listings..."

and if you want to head to Brazil for the World Cup:
12 Amazing Airbnb Rentals in Brazil  - by Madeline Stone/ Tech/ BusinessInsider.com

"The World Cup is fast approaching, and anyone planning to head down to Brazil should look into a place to stay, if they haven't already found one.

Renting from sites like Airbnb can be a great alternative to traditional hotels. They allow you to search by location and price point, in addition to offering a taste of local life. 

We've created a list of some of the coolest Brazilian homes you can rent on Airbnb. They each have something amazing to offer, from beach access to gorgeous art..." 



Richard


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## DebBrown

Unless it's changed, AirBNB let's people rent out rooms in their homes, not just entire homes.  I find that kinda creepy.  When I searched my home town, I saw many spare bedrooms for rent.  Of course, these alternatives are pretty inexpensive.

We rented a house for this summer in Spain.  I spent a lot of time checking out details and references before sending the money.  We originally planned to use timeshares in the Costa del Sol area but decided we preferred a different location and love the idea of a 5 bedroom house and private pool.

We've also rented homes in Montana a couple of times.  I believe these were both with VRBO and ran into various problems with both.  One had a bat infestation!  Of course, these little adventures made the trips quite memorable.

Deb


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Host Welcomes Travelers From All Over - by N.R. Kleinfield/ N.Y.-Region/ The New York Times.com

...Over the past 10 months, Mr. Naess has had a parade of 72 strangers living with him, respondents to his overture of: “Beautiful room for rent in Astoria” on the website Airbnb..."

Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Hotel Association Takes Aim at Airbnb, But Airbnb Isn't Taking the Bait - by Jessica Plautz/ Lifestyle/ mashable.com

"The hotel industry is making a move in the growing battle between established companies and new, short-term rentals websites.

Airbnb, which has a valuation of around $10 billion, has been on hotel owners' radar for some time. But so far, the wildly successful short-term rental booking site has managed to avoid significant conflict with the industry..."


Richard


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## Beefnot

MULTIZ321 said:


> Hotel Association Takes Aim at Airbnb, But Airbnb Isn't Taking the Bait - by Jessica Plautz/ Lifestyle/ mashable.com
> 
> "The hotel industry is making a move in the growing battle between established companies and new, short-term rentals websites.
> 
> Airbnb, which has a valuation of around $10 billion, has been on hotel owners' radar for some time. But so far, the wildly successful short-term rental booking site has managed to avoid significant conflict with the industry..."
> 
> Richard




Holy crap, from following one of the linked articles, I am now pretty sure that one of my repeat clients has been operating, or is the pawn for, a temporary brothel.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Co-Founder: We'd 'Take a Bullet' for Other Sharing-Economy Firms - by Richard Nieva/ News/ CNET.com

The peer-to-peer vacation-rental company says it would use its scale to deflect harm policy makers might throw at other firms.


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Poised for Boom Among Business Travelers - by Benjamin Snyder/ Tech/ Fortune/ CNNMoney/ cnn.com

"The online housing rental service Airbnb appears poised for a future boom, especially for travelers on business. At least, that's what Concur's (CNQR) Tim MacDonald, an executive vice president, believes.

Concur, which has more than 22 million customers around the world, touts itself as an "easy-to-use business travel and expense management" software. "We're seeing Airbnb going from zero two years ago to $1 million this quarter" in corporate expense reports, MacDonald told CNBC..."

and

New York Attorney General Issues New Subpoena in Airbnb Case - by Benjamin Snyder/ Tech/ Fortune/ CNNMoney/ cnn.com

Despite losing in court yesterday, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has issued another subpoena against Airbnb for user records.






 - 
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman tries once more to get Airbnb's user information

Richard


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## Beefnot

If airbnb makes a significant inroads into the business market, there is going to be hell to pay.  The hotels ain't gonna take that lying down.  

Another opportunity for airbnb is developing a full service residential property leasing offering: e.g,. listing, credit checks, and robust review/rating system whereby landlords can better familiarize themselves who they are entering into leasing agreeemnts with.


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## MULTIZ321

New York Attorney General, Airbnb Reach Settlement Over User Records Subpoena - by Tom Huddleston/ Tech/ Fortune/ cnn.com

"Schneiderman's deputy attorney general, Janet Sabel, and Airbnb deputy general counsel Darren Weingard issued a joint statement Wednesday morning announcing the fact that the two sides have come to terms: "Airbnb and the Office of the Attorney General have worked tirelessly over the past six months to come to an agreement that appropriately balances Attorney General Schneiderman's commitment to protecting New York's residents and tourists from illegal hotels with Airbnb's concerns about the privacy of thousands of other hosts. The arrangement we have reached today for compliance with the OAG subpoena strikes this balance."..."


Richard


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## SnowDogDad

lch said:


> Interesting news about the new policy to begin collecting taxes in SF and Portland. We are renting a house in OR this August through airbnb. I agree, this new policy has the potential to make hosting and renting in those areas much less appealing. It seems this could backfire on airbnb if competitors (vrbo, etc.) aren't charging taxes.



I think this is a recurring theme with a lot of municipalities.  I read somewhere recently about NYC starting to monitor AirBNB and VRBO, contacting owners, and fining people for not paying transient taxes.  

I have an acquaintance that works in a transient accommodations tax office.  This particular municipality passed a law that states all advertisements must have the tax ID on them.  And now the people in his office spend part of their day perusing Craig's List, VRBO, Vacation Home Rentals, AirBNB, FlipKey, and just Googling looking for offenders.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb's Promise: Every Man and Woman a Hotelier - by Ginia Bellafante/ N.Y. Region/ The New York Times.com

"In recent weeks, Airbnb, the online lodging site and popular Silicon Valley emblem of the sharing-loving-trusting-hugging-anyone-can-be-Conrad-Hilton economy, unveiled a promotional campaign in New York aimed at getting doubters to see what a valuable social function the company performs. In a series of ads, visible mostly in subway stations, Airbnb hosts of various races and creeds are depicted in the unpretentious living quarters they rent out — in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, in Astoria, Queens — over text explaining that Airbnb not only provides tens of thousands of New Yorkers with supplemental income, but also “strengthens our communities.” ..."






 Recent advertisements in New York City for Airbnb, the online lodging site, portray the business as a valuable community service. Credit Andrew Renneisen/The New York Times 


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Changes Review Process for Hosts, Guests - by David Murphy/ Reviews/ PCMag.com

"Reviews from hosts and guests will now be published simultaneously (so one can't unfairly trash the other)..."

Richard


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## Beefnot

Odd that they say these changes are coming, because these changes have been in place for at least a month.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Unveils it's New Identity, Reimagines it's Entire Product Experience:
http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/16/airbnb-redesign/ - by Harrison Weber/ VentureBeat.com


"Airbnb unveiled*a complete brand and product redesign today at*an exclusive event for top hosts and guests.

Airbnb calls its*new logo a*“multi-state moving identity,” and a “3D modular symbol” that’s “adaptive to environments,” as VentureBeat*revealed exclusively on Monday.*Airbnb*quietly announced the live-streamed event*last week..."


Note this news is more than a week old.

Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb's New Logo Looks a Lot Like This Other Company's Logo [Updated]:
http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/16/airbnbs-new-logo-looks-a-lot-this-other-companys-logo/ - by Jordan Novet/ Lifestyle/ VentureBeat.com

"Airbnb and Automation Anywhere sent this joint statement to VentureBeat:

In early 2014 both Airbnb and Automation Anywhere began use of new logos that, by coincidence, have similar designs. Airbnb and Automation Anywhere are working cooperatively to address this issue, and Automation Anywhere is in the process of transitioning to a new logo design that is not similar to the Airbnb logo..."

Richard

...


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## MULTIZ321

SAirbnb Drops Homejoy from Cleaning Trial, Handybrook Remains On in Three Test Markets: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/21/airbnb-handybook/ - by Ryan Lawler/ Techcrunch.com

"Earlier this year, Airbnb began testing a cleaning service for hosts that would be offered at a slight discount to traditional maid services they’d book themselves. The idea was to improve the quality of the guest experience while offering a perk to hosts who frequently make their homes available to strangers.

On the flip side, it had the potential to drive incremental volume to a couple of cleaning startups that it had partnered with for the trial. Last week, however, it notified hosts that one of the two startups it had partnered with for the trial would no longer be available for booking.

The partner being left behind is Homejoy, while Handybook will remain on as part of the trial..."


Richard


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## hvsteve1

The downside of these services is if you're the neighbor in an apartment building, coop or condo and paid a fortune for your apartment and have this stream of strangers moving in and out.

And, did you see the recent story about an Airb&b customers moving into a lady's home and announcing he wasn't going to pay or leave?  As he is considered a tenant, there is nothing she can legally do to evict him other than a long and costly legal battle.  Once he squatted for a few weeks, he announced he now had eminent domain and owned her home, something else she had to hire a lawyer to deal with.  Laws in many states, such as New York, give tenants all the rights and landlords almost none.  

Still want to rent your home out to a stranger who signed up with a service on line?


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## MULTIZ321

hvsteve1 said:


> The downside of these services is if you're the neighbor in an apartment building, coop or condo and paid a fortune for your apartment and have this stream of strangers moving in and out.
> 
> And, did you see the recent story about an Airb&b customers moving into a lady's home and announcing he wasn't going to pay or leave?  As he is considered a tenant, there is nothing she can legally do to evict him other than a long and costly legal battle.  Once he squatted for a few weeks, he announced he now had eminent domain and owned her home, something else she had to hire a lawyer to deal with.  Laws in many states, such as New York, give tenants all the rights and landlords almost none.
> 
> Still want to rent your home out to a stranger who signed up with a service on line?



Here's additional info to the story: Airbnb Host Can't Get Rid of Squatter - by Thomas Johnson/ Morning Mix/ TheWashingtonPost.com

"Here’s one big difference between a hotel and Airbnb: If someone rents a hotel room and refuses to leave, the desk calls security and has him thrown out. If someone rents out a place using Airbnb and the “guest” refuses to leave, there’s no desk, no security and sometimes not much recourse.

That’s what Cory Tschogl is finding out..."


Richard


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## hvsteve1

Thanks.  I remembered the story but couldn't find it.


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## MULTIZ321

Paris Airbnb Cops Want to Know if Your Rental is Legal - by Helene Fouquet and Ania Nussbaum/ News/ Bloomberg.com

"Paris’s fight against the expanding business is the latest attempt to curb a development housing advocates say drives up residential rents. They rose 42 percent in the decade to 2013, according to government-funded research.

Paris, one of the world’s most visited cities, is stepping up its crackdown on illegal vacation rentals...?




Richard


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## ronandjoan

MichaelColey said:


> I had never heard of Airbnb until recently.
> 
> VRBO is another big one.



We ve used both.. Always been successful.  BLOG gives details when


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## MULTIZ321

Look Out, Hosts: Airbnb is Turning Over Names to the NY Authorities - by Jeff John Roberts/ Airbnb-New York City-Regulation/ Gigaom.com

"Have you been renting out multiple apartments on Airbnb? If you live in New York, you could be in trouble as the company has finally agreed to hand over names to the Attorney General..."





photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Richard


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## hvsteve1

Saw on line that the moochers in the California apartment have finally disappeared allowing the owner to change the locks.  These guys apparently have squatted before and will likely try to do it again.  Their photos and names were in the story so that may help alert people.

This is the problem with airbnb.  The owner is neither here not there.  They are not a hotel so do not have hostelry laws to protect them (I don't think you can squat in a hotel in any jurisdiction without being arrested for theft of service) and they are also not treating the use of their home as a rental.


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## MuranoJo

hvsteve1 said:


> Saw on line that the moochers in the California apartment have finally disappeared allowing the owner to change the locks.  These guys apparently have squatted before and will likely try to do it again.  Their photos and names were in the story so that may help alert people.
> 
> This is the problem with airbnb.  The owner is neither here not there.  They are not a hotel so do not have hostelry laws to protect them (I don't think you can squat in a hotel in any jurisdiction without being arrested for theft of service) and they are also not treating the use of their home as a rental.



I must have missed this story--was there a link I missed in the thread?  Sounds like an interesting read.  Just discovered my cousin has rented her summer cabin in the mountains very successfully this summer using airbnb.


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## MULTIZ321

muranojo said:


> I must have missed this story--was there a link I missed in the thread?  Sounds like an interesting read.  Just discovered my cousin has rented her summer cabin in the mountains very successfully this summer using airbnb.



Hi Muranojo,

See Posts 50 and 51 in this thread.


Richard


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## MuranoJo

Shucks, I completely missed those and thought I'd been through them all--must have missed the last page.    Thanks, Richard.


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Will Collect Taxes in San Francisco Starting Next Month - by Liz Gannes/ Commerce/ Recode.net

"Airbnb will collect taxes from its hosts and and remit them to its hometown of San Francisco starting October 1, the company said today.

That means Airbnb-coordinated stays in San Francisco are about to cost 14 percent more than before, with the addition of the city’s transient occupancy tax.

The move comes as Airbnb is the focus of a legislative battle in the city over short-term rentals, which have largely existed as a loophole outside leasing and hotel systems. City leaders held a marathon eight-hour hearing on the issue this week..."


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

3 Things We Learned From Airbnb's Proprietary Data - by David Yanofsky/ Booked/ Quartz/ qz.com

"New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a report today on Airbnb’s activities in New York City, in it were charts, graphs, and maps showing many aspects of Airbnb’s operation in the city. Schneiderman claims that most units listed on Airbnb are done so illegally with respect to both New York State and New York City laws regarding hotels, hostels, and other for-profit accommodation. He used Airbnb’s own data—obtained after he subpoenaed the company—to make his case.

The previously private, proprietary data, used to make the report will not be released, but Quartz was able to reverse-engineer one of the charts to extract some of the underlying information. Here’s what we learned:..."


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb's New York Listings Are Mostly Illegal, Attorney General Says - by Laura Lorenzetti/ Tech/ Fortune.com

"Eric Schneiderman is looking to shut down local Airbnb listings, saying they violate local hotel laws.

New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is cracking down on Airbnb.

Schneiderman is looking to shut down the online marketplace’s listings that he argues violate local hotel laws, which are in place to prevent people from renting residences for less than 30 days unless the occupants are also home, according to a release. A new state report found that nearly 72% of the site’s listings are illegal, based on the state’s laws..."






Photo by Bloomberg - Getty Images


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

When Uber and Airbnb Meet the Real World - by Claire Cain Miller/ Sunday Review: The Upshot/ The New York Times.com

"THE regulatory woes seem to be never ending for the newest wave of tech start-ups — the on-demand apps that connect people who need something (a driver, a house cleaner, a grocery shopper) with people who want to do the job.

On Thursday, the New York State attorney general said most Airbnb listings in the city violated zoning and other laws. Officials in California and Pennsylvania recently warned car services like Uber and Lyft that they might be unlawful. And workers’ rights advocates have questioned whether the people who provide these services should receive benefits, spurred by recent reports that some Homejoy house cleaners are homeless.

Why have these companies run into so many problems? Part of the reason is that they think of themselves as online companies — yet they mostly operate in the offline world..."

Richard


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## MULTIZ321

The Business Tycoons of Airbnb - by William Alden/ Magazine/ The New York Times.com

"The sharing economy is supposed to offer a new kind of capitalism for regular folks. But a class of well-heeled professionals are outperforming the amateurs..."





Illustration by Kelsey Dake 


Richard


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## MULTIZ321

How to Make a Fortune Without 'Doing' Anything: The Uber, Airbnb Story - by Jeffrey Pfeffer/ Leadership/ Fortune.com

"Cast in the new age rhetoric of the so-called sharing economy, many firms make money by not being responsible for much of anything..."





Photograph by Justin Sullivan — Getty Images


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Good News for Airbnb Hosts and Uber Drivers: Here Comes Insurance - by Catherine Clifford/ Entrepreneur Staff/ Sharing Economy/ entrepreneur.com

"Share the profits. Share the losses. The sharing economy gets even more 
share-y.

Another step in the development of the fast-growing sharing economy is that it is getting its own insurance policies, designed to stabilize income generated by driving strangers around town or letting them stay in your home..."







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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb To Begin Collecting Taxes in Amsterdam, San Jose, Chicago, and Washington D.C. - by Ryan Lawler/ TechCrunch.com

"Over the past few years, Airbnb has been working with local lawmakers and regulators on ways that it can comply with local hotel tax and housing laws. Those efforts have been slow-going, as its public policy team has more or less had to work with each individual city to do so.

But things are speeding up. Today the company announced that it will soon begin collecting and remitting tourist taxes in four new cities: Amsterdam, San Jose, Chicago, And Washington, D.C...."







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## MULTIZ321

With a Few Tweaks, Airbnb CouDisrupt Yet Another Multibillion-Dollar Industry   - by Frédéric Filloux, Editory, Monday Note/ Quartz/ qz.com

"Airbnb has every reason to enter the news services sector—and to threaten a broad range of media/services such as Trip Advisor or Yelp.

Seen through the eyes of travel information publishers, Airbnb holds a dream position: a huge base of 25 million potential readers/users, spread over 34,000 cities in 190 countries, well in tune with the brand’s core product and attributes.

For a start, should Airbnb develop a publishing arm, its unparalleled notoriety would save it tens of millions of dollars otherwise required to promote its content services—after all, in the travel industry, advertising and marketing demand high spending. To put things in perspective: this year—according to the trade site Skift.com—HomeAway, one of Airbnb’s key competitors, plans to spend $100 million (after shelling out $60 million in 2014) “To show it’s not Airbnb.” HomeAway was created in 2005 and received $504 million in funding before going public in 2011—the stock lost 18% since. Airbnb has yet to go public after raising more than $800 million. Its latest confirmed round (closed in October) was for $50 million with a $13 billion valuation. Airbnb is now rumored to be raising a $1 billion “war chest” at an even higher price: $20 billion..."





Where is Airbnb going next?(Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes)

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## MULTIZ321

Airbnb Offers Cuba Lodgings in Major US Business Expansion - by Michael Weissenstein/ The Big Story/ bigstory.ap.org

"HAVANA (AP) — The popular online home-rental service Airbnb is allowing American travelers to book lodging in Cuba starting Thursday in the most significant U.S. business expansion on the island since the declaration of detente between the two countries late last year.

For a half-century, the U.S. trade embargo had blocked such businesses from entering the Cuban market. In January, however, the Obama administration loosened a series of restrictions on U.S. business in an attempt to encourage the growth of the island's small private sector.

Airbnb searches for "Cuba" now turn up more than 1,000 properties across the island, with 40 percent in Havana and the rest in tourist destinations such as Cienfuegos a few hours away on the southern coast. The company has been sending teams of representatives to Cuba for three months to sign up home owners, and plans to expand steadily in coming months..."





A home owner sits in his living room at his home with rooms for rent in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday


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## MULTIZ321

No Internet, No Credit Cards, No Problem: How Airbnb Launched in Cuba - by Sarah Kessler/ Most Creative People/ FastCompany.com

"Cuba runs on cash and almost no one has easy access to the Internet. But Airbnb found a way to beat U.S. hotels to the market nevertheless..."





Isolda, a new Airbnb host in the Playa neighborhood of Havana.


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## MULTIZ321

Questions About Airbnb's Responsibility After Attack By Dog - by Ron Lieber/ Your Money/ International New York Times/ The New York Times/ nytimes.com

"On Airbnb’s short and startling ride to global ubiquity, it has delighted many people. Hosts can rent rooms or their entire home and use the income to avoid having a day job, to make ends meet or to get into the bed-and-breakfast business without bothering with local licensing rules or all the usual red tape.

Travelers get to express their displeasure with local hotels and their sky-high prices and double-digit taxes. Plus, they can stay in residential neighborhoods or rural areas where inns might not exist.

That’s all well and good until somebody gets hurt. Which is what happened late last month to Mike Silverman, a 58-year-old American who encountered a host’s Rottweiler on the third day of his stay in Salta, Argentina..."





 Mike Silverman spent two nights in the hospital after being attacked by his Airbnb host's Rottweiler. Credit Anibal Adrian Greco for The New York Times 


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## MULTIZ321

Business is Booming, Says Airbnb CEO - by Dara Kerr/ Tech Industry/ cnet.com

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Wednesday that the company is generating enough revenue that it doesn't need to raise any more money from investors.

"We are already the largest provider of accommodations on the planet and we're growing really really quickly," he said. "I think the biggest thing that's happening is that Airbnb is going mainstream."

Chesky was speaking with Co-Executive Editor Kara Swisher at Recode's Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., about the highlights and hurdles of Airbnb. The company is a peer-to-peer home rental marketplace, founded in 2008, that's gone from catering to couch surfers to having a massive online presence. It now has more than a million listings with hosts in 34,000 cities in nearly 200 countries..."

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