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Comment by callmeed | Hacker News Reader

I think is only going to happen more and more across the country. I understand AirBnB is disruptive to some degree, but you have to consider:

- Cities that rely on tourism generate revenue from hotel "bed taxes" which are often higher or in addition to sales tax

- People who are making money on AirBnB by renting out rooms probably aren't paying income tax on it (call it a hunch)

- All the sublease/short-term laws that exist already. For example, in Shell Beach, CA (near where I'm at) you cannot rent a house/room for less than 1 month. People on VRBO are already sketchy about this when you call.

- I still see significant liability issues for both sides. Seriously, what happens if you rent out a room illegally and the guy/gal slips and falls in your shower? What if your dog bites them?

I want AirBnB to do well, but could enough local/state government regulations threaten their growth/existence?

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Airbnb didn't invent vacation rentals or sublets. VRBO/Homeaway and Craigslist, the dominant players in the space, have been doing this for years. You bring up good bullet points but if they were real issues, Homeaway probably wouldn't be the $1B company it is today. This is nothing more than hotel lobby groups pushing a bill through their pockets. Occupancy rates are recovering from an all time low (as in lowest in 40 years) and they see cutting off vacation rentals as a strategy for improvement. Mayor Bloomberg even thanks the Hotel lobby groups in his press release http://bit.ly/9iNt3Q. Separately, there seems to be a misconception that Airbnb is hands off with taxes, when in fact hosts who meet the appropriate income standards are issued a 1099 form.

Over time, a city like NY will most likely see a drop in tourism if (a) if the vacation rental industry is removed from the playing field, and (b) hotel prices stay the same (or go back up to 2007 standards). There is a large class of travelers who cannot afford NYC on $300/night rates, and will likely still travel, but choose to spend their money elsewhere.

First, I wasn't necessarily taking a side–more posing the question "could enough govt pressue hurt AirBnB's business?"

Second, I think the comparison to VRBO/Homeaway only goes so far. Those 2 sites cater primarily to vacation/2nd home owners (i.e. renting out an entire house/condo for week). You don't see many "Rent out my extra bedroom for $60/night" listings on there. Unless I'm mistaken, that's where AirBnB differentiates itself and, IMO, makes it more risky.

> - Cities that rely on tourism generate revenue from hotel "bed taxes" which are often higher or in addition to sales tax

Too frickin' bad? I'm of the opinion that taxes should be in compensation for the service provided by the government. What service is being provided here? It makes me angry that just because someone is making money off of something that taxes must sharecrop off of it. As long as the host files their 1099 that came from AirBNB, it seems fine to me. Why is it that a person can stay over and it's no problem but when they pay money it's a huge issue? It makes me think. If this is hurting the hotel business, too bad! Maybe they should look to change their business model instead of trying to pass laws to protect their current one.

Do people who visit cities/counties for vacation/business trips not require services (indirectly)? Roads, beaches, parks, public restrooms, parking lots, etc. They all have to be maintained.

Come to Pismo Beach (where I'm at) on any Summer weekend. 75%+ of the people on the beach are from out of town. Should I pay higher property taxes to pick up their beer bottles and pay for the extra police officers that need to be on duty?

I guess that's a good point, I didn't think of situations like that. So maybe some extra tax is in fact in order. However, what about banning stays less than one month? Doesn't that smack of trying to get rid of competition?

Don't the people who visit Pismo pay local taxes, provide local employment at restaurants, buy gas at the local gas station, etc?

Or they bring a cooler full of food/beer along with a full tank of gas. Leave a mess and don't spent a dime in the area.

Then they won't pay the bed tax anyway.

Many stadiums are funded with municipal funds that come from tourism and hotel taxes.

Exactly. Here's an example:

http://www.noozhawk.com/local_news/article/042110_bed_tax_up...

Santa Barbara, which is a medium-sized city at best, generates over $11M a year in TOT/Bed taxes.

Do you think they're just going to sit by and let people eat away at that revenue? No way. They're going to have "Richard from accounting" monitor AirBnB and other sites–and start threatening people. Maybe they'll give them an option to remove their listing or register and start paying taxes. Since no one will want to go through health and fire code inspections or worry about taxes, they'll just remove it.

That's all speculation, of course. But enforcement can't be too difficult (at least, not on the RIAA level).

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