Airbnb banned in Amsterdam

There are 2 types of licenses: Vacation rental and B&B.

Vacation rental (=whole house) is banned from the center but still allowed under license outside the center.

B&B (=part of house, while owner being present at night) allowed under license everywhere, even in the center, but the amount of licenses are limited.

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So about 5000 families left without side-income? This can’t be good for next elections. Someone is getting voted-out

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@Chris is correct about this. Live-in hosts in Amsterdam don’t fall under short-term rentals/Airbnb legislation. They are considered Bed and Breakfasts and so are not effected by the new laws.

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In the US there was an election in November in which New Jersey residents overwhelmingly (69%) voted in favor of new Airbnb regulations. Why do you assume that 5000 families can outvote the rest of the voting population?

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If it were actually 5000 “families” with “side-income”, I doubt it would have become a problem and legislated against. Airbnb screwed over everyone who rents property, whether it be a room or a vacation house, when they allowed investors to list 1000s of properties as “hosts”. The backlash seems warranted to me.

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Oh crap. I missed my chance for a nice really stoned visit to see Rembrandts and chow down on a huge riisttafel afterward! :wink:

Yep, Air should have stayed a homestay company. I live in the busiest US cruise destination port, pop. 30,000, where we were expecting 1.4 million mass market cruise passengers in 5 months. Now we will have 3 small US based companies whose ships are all 150 pax or under.

And many locals who had been complaining about tour vans in neighborhoods and buses on quiet streets, flightseeing helicopters, etc. are glad to have their (socially distanced) city back for a summer, and are also talking controls. It’s not AirBnBs they’re worried about, it’s the daytripping hordes off the ships, the buses, the jaywalking gawkers, etc.

They like folks that stay in their friends’ spare room(s), who stay here for several days and spend money at local businesses so it stays here, instead of the inside cabin cheapskates that get off the ship with a $5 bill and don’t break it.

One thing I do know is that we won’t see large cruise ships here in Alaska until a vaccine is widely available. I just hope we have a vaccine soon.

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What happens to the economy if there is no effective vaccine ever? The virus just kills all the old people and pre existing conditions folks then young people move in and take their jobs?

Shh don 't let La T hear you say that @KKC he’ll be announcing that as his latest Covid solution :slight_smile:

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Nothing, in 2 years this virus will be added as one of the many seasonal flu viruses, for which most people have antibodies.

Most fatalities are people with low vitamin D levels, and high BMI’s.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle will do a lot more than a vaccine… but there is no money in that.

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You’re beginning to sound like a broken record…

JF

No serious scientist says all you need is a healthy lifestyle. In the US almost half the deaths are in nursing homes so while co-morbidities and old age are risk factors, they aren’t the only ones. Yes obesity is also a risk factor. However we have a very skewed data set due to the lockdowns.

New studies are pointing to worrisome data indicating that immunity only lasts a few months. Lasting health effects in younger patients are unknown.

Your assertion that this is just another flu has no basis in current evidence. It’s magical thinking in It’s most deadly form.

Nothing the deniers have said over the last four months has turned out to be accurate. It isn’t under control, it hasn’t gone away.

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Once again I find the “life unworthy of life” rhetoric from the Nazi genocide playbook very disturbing.

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Give me that old time religion

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@KKC See, that’s what I’m referring to when I say the US breeds a unique type of crazy :crazy_face:

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So you’re a medical professional, or are you just blowing smoke from your posterior?

People in perfect glowing health, athletes in great shape, have had their lungs destroyed by this killer and are lucky to be alive with the horrible damage this disease causes. In addition to possible lifetime lung damage, this disease also causes damage to the entire vascular system, weakening blood vessel walls and destroying connective tissue and major organs like kidneys and livers, which shortens lives. Plus it’s not certain that the antibodies last for long.

We have NO idea or control over how this virus will mutate. Majpr mutations so far have made it worse not better. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

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@NordlingHouse The deniers aren’t interested in facts, only in what bolsters their delusions.

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Another disturbing fact is that because of the pervasive victim blaming the folks who get it aren’t forthcoming about their circumstances. For example the TX family I posted about claims Grandma just dropped something off and didn’t even come inside. If that’s true it’s terrifying. I doubt they are telling the truth though.

How can the economy recover if we don’t even fully understand how it spreads?

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Well I never said they can outvote, but ruling party will def. lose them.

Of course people who are not directly benefiting from Airbnb will vote to regulate it. Only losers here are hosts, so why would they care?

are you suggesting Airbnb should be going house-by-house and checking if this is single host or investor? How would you even enforce that? or why?

@JohnF sorry for being completly awol for a week. Been having a meltdown, entirely unrelated to Amsterdam Airbnbs :slight_smile:

Anyway, here is my belated pov. Overall, this has to be a good thing for Amsterdam and for serious hosts.

The tourism has becme untenable over the past few years. As others have said, one silver-lining of Covid-19 has been the chance to regain our cities, albeit at too significant a cost sadly.

As already noted upthread, for genuine Airbnb landlords (I consider myself to be one of these), this is not a huge issue. You can (and should) simply operate under a B&B permit if you want to host more than 30 days. Or don’t do STR.

We live right in the centre and have a permit and pay all our taxes et cetera. The reporting can be onerous but it is manageable and the rewards for good STRs are certainly still interesting (over and above meeting some fabulous guests).

At a personal level I get frustrated at the default assumption in the media that all STR landlords are close to scum operating illegal operations in unsafe premises and pating no taxes although such people do indeed exist.

But I personally know many honest operators in the Dam with wonderful properties and great intentions. They like us strive to create a great experience and want to do so again once the pandemic is finally under control. And like us, they also think that weeding out some of the competition (and reducing visitor numbers) will be a good thing in the long run and will improve the quality of the offering and the experience for guests.

But I’m not sorry to see the back of the opportuntistic STRs who have had a number of years to see this action coming. The writing was on the wall in 2016 and there was plenty of time for legitimate operators to get permitted and play by the rules.

Cheers all.

Neil

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