The (Overdue) Collapse Of Short Term Rentals

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I sort of just stopped using it because it just wasn't a good price most of the time anymore. It's OK for some one-off unusual rentals or maybe for a big house for a large group, but travelling as a couple for short stays it just costs more than hotels these days for a less reliable experience.

I was done when they told me I had to clean the bathroom, wash the sheets, and mop the floors. And they would still charged me for a cleaning fee. We canceled so fast and just split a hotel instead

In a nutshell: It went from offering travelers an authentic affordable stay with locals who make some extra cash on a spare room, to overpriced short-term rent filling the pockets of real estate overlords. Creating an artificial housing shortage and pricing out residents from long term rental in the process.

Imagine going on vacation, and having not only to clean somebody else's house, but having to pay 30% more for "cleaning fees". And it's still more expensive than a hotel. No thanks.

AirBnb died the moment they allowed all of these property management companies to list on their platform. The fees are utterly outrageous and there is always a BOOK of rules, regulations, and chores so thick that you can’t even enjoy your stay. I’m over it.

I will shed precicely zero tears for Airbnb bros who have to leave the market becuase they now can't make any money.

The issue is that either the renter or the owner must in some way pay insurance and property taxes if they want a "permanent roof" with utilities like electricity, gas and water. Because of this, many people—at least in California, where I currently reside—are living in tents. No taxes, rent, mortgages, or insurance. The number of people who tell me they live in their car that I meet amazes me. Its crazy out here!

I recently saw a rental that was $80 for a night, but the host added a $200 "host fee" and a $200 "cleaning fee". I got a hotel for $77 a night that included breakfast and parking. Bye Bye Air BnB.

My simplified read on the whole AB&B thing is that everyone just got greedy. AB&B realized the profits they could make by simply adding fees and fines. And not doing anything to stop the fraudulent damage and repair cost claims against guests. Most of the hosts started jacking up the prices just because they saw home sale and traditional rental prices going up, without adding any actual value into their listings, all while doing little to no services of any kind. Then of course the investment firms started pushing their way into the market when they saw the potential gold rush.

I recently looked at Airbnb in Melbourne for a holiday. The difference for a 4* hotel and a airbnb appt was $20 for a 4 day stay with airbnb being cheaper. I went with the hotel because they'll clean my room every day

I was the cleaning lady for a few luxury air bnbs this summer. The most expensive unit was over $1500/night. The cleaning fee was $200. I was paid with that fee, except the hosts kept about half for themselves plus about 10% for cleaning supplies. So I made ~$90 every time I cleaned that unit. What the hell was the rest of the cleaning fee for??

I live in a tourist destination. Airbnb and other short term rental apps destroyed the housing market. Homes were bought up for an extreme price and immediately put on Airbnb for vacation rentals. It made it impossible to buy a home or even find an apartment. As a firefighter in that town, we are fully volunteer. Airbnb put a huge load on the emergency system as the people who own the homes don’t live in the same state, so they would just call 911 when a tenant needed something. Towns finally banned Airbnbs and the effects still are around. Airbnb ruined so many peoples lives and cost tax payers so much money. Screw Airbnb and alternatives.

It was the cleaning fees that turned me back to hotels. Having to pay a fee and still be required by the host to clean before we left was something got under my skin. And there was one occasion that the fee increased about $100 per guest per night, and that immediately out priced itself over a hotel

It's a real problem in the mountains of Colorado. You have these people who are no longer able to afford in the mountain towns that they work in, because people are buy up properties for short term rentals and are even lobbying the government to build more housing. And people go: "Well, more housing means the people who live there all year round will have homes." No, they wont, because those new houses will be bought by people turning them into short term rentals.

I remember travelling to Prague and Budapest in the early 1990s. Arrive at the train station and people standing on the platform would ask you if you want a room. You liked the look of them, asked the general area and they pointed it out on a map. You went with them to their house or apartment, looked at the room, said OK, gave them a small fee (by western standards) and you had a clean simple room, usually, breakfast with your host and an interesting experience. Turn it into a business and it all gets ruined.

Airbnb also assumed they could treat their customers like garbage and it wouldn’t affect their business.

Worst accommodation experience ever was at an Airbnb which was described as a "luxury" townhouse charging about $400 a night, but had dirty stinky sheets, bugs crawling all over, and full of cheap old furniture and leftover food in the fridge. Owner refused to give even a partial refund and so we moved to a five-star hotel for $50 more per night. Airbnb doesn't even make any sense anymore.

RIP to all the "bros" that took out mortgages and maxed themselves out on debt to buy homes to rent out right before that entire business model dies

Same thing has happened with the taxi industry in Australia. Uber was a major disrupter, but now taxis have raised their game, and are sometimes cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable than Uber.