New York Senate has just passed a bill that bans short term listings on Airbnb. The bill prohibits online apartment listings that last under 30 days. This is just ridiculous. This is a system that has worked for so many travelers worldwide.
In an interview with TechCrunch, an Airbnb spokesperson said, "Dozens of governments around the world have demonstrated that there is a sensible way to regulate home sharing and we hop New York will follow their lead and protect the middle class."
Linda Rosenthal, one of the bill's sponsors, said, in an interview with the New York Post, that the bill targets "people or companies with multiple listings. There are so many units held by commercial operators, not individual tenants. They are bad actors who horde multiple units, driving up the cost of housing around them and across the city. You should know who your neighbor is and what happens when people rent out their apartments on Airbnb is you get strangers. Every night there could be different person sleeping in the next apartment and it shatters that sense of community in the building. It also can be dangerous.”
This may be true, but isn't this the same as a hotel. In New York people don't generally talk to their neighbors. Cities aren't like small towns.
Anyway if there is a community within the building, you can get the chance to join. When you travel, you want to immerse yourself into the culture of the place that you visit. You want to return to a home that makes you feel like a New Yorker or a Parisian. When I went to New York for a week in the spring of 2014, I stayed in an apartment for the first time using Airbnb.
Let me tell you first hand, it was amazing.
It's hard to explain, but when you go Airbnb you just feel different. I've been to New York City a fair amount, and when I used Airbnb I felt like a New Yorker.
When I chose to stay in an apartment instead of a hotel I was forced to immerse myself in the city more. I got to see the city through a New Yorkers lens. Every morning I was there, I walked down the three flights of stairs walked a few blocks to a local bakery, Amy's Bread. I walked down 9th ave, croissant in hand, just taking in the sights. I would spend the days roaming, shopping and eating. At the end of the day, I walked up the three flights of stairs unlocked the door and flopped on the day bed.
In my apartment building there was no front desk, no ice machine in the hallway, no vending. It was like a little home away from home. Honestly it was the best way to vacation.
The bill is currently on the desk of New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo. It's now up to him to either veto or sign.
