This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I wouldn’t be sceptical if I were you.
No idea where you live but for example a guy who was hosting in east london recently had it banned by his management company. Turns out there were over 30 hosts just in his building…
Airbnb is a major problem in cities like London, NYC etc because it’s so much more lucrative than renting to a resident.
But that’s my point…once the market reaches equilibrium (at it appears to have in San Francisco), it’s not actually more lucrative to host Airbnb. I’ve gone back and forth with my apartment over the last 15 years, starting with Craigslist, then VRBO, now Airbnb, with full-time rentals interspersed for periods of several years. Zillow claims I could get 57% higher rent than I’m getting from Airbnb. I keep it on Airbnb because I like to use it between guests, not because it’s making me money.
Ah so you’re operating at a loss on airbnb?
excuse me if I take your statements with a pinch of salt…
Depends on what you mean by “operating at a loss.” My Airbnb income covers my expenses, so I’m not losing money in that sense. All I need to do is break even. If I was independently wealthy, I would just leave it vacant, but I’m not. For me, the ability to stay in my own apartment when I’m visiting San Francisco, which is a non-monetary benefit, exceeds my desire to earn income from it. Why is that so difficult to comprehend? I’m not treating my former home solely as an investment–if I did, I would want to maximize my ROI by renting it full-time instead of on Airbnb.
Anyway, my reasons for doing it are irrelevant to the larger point, which is that as Airbnb reaches saturation in any given market, more people will find that they can make more money (or, an economist would argue, exactly the same amount of money), going back to full-time rentals.
I hope Airbnb IPOs before this occurs in many markets, because their growth isn’t sustainable in the long run, and I personally benefit from their business–5 years ago when I was doing VRBO, I was forced to go back to full-time rentals because I couldn’t even cover my costs. Airbnb changed all that.
Does this new law cover the entire state of NY or just NYC?
This is a little worrisome for others outside of NY as well. Even though I’m not in a big city, I’m on the way to the big ski areas and close enough to Denver that I get a lot of weekenders. If the state of CO did the same thing my future plans could be greatly affected. Tourism is huge in Colorado and I’m sure the hotel industry here could make waves with the state legislature…
A friend in my neighborhood made $9000 in the month of July on her 2 br apt on AirBNB. (She can get $2200/month doing a long-term rental.) There are well over 300 entire place units within a 1 mile radius of her apt. It’s going to take a very, very long time for the market here to become so saturated that she will need to reduce her nightly rate by 75% and return to long-term leases.
I have to agree with you. There is an affordable housing crisis here in my area of Southern California. I can understand people wanting to make money off their real estate, but it does have a huge impact. The city of San Diego has just passed some very strict laws regarding STRs.
Hi all! Greetings from Maui!
Check out Friends and Guests. It’s a listing site like Airbnb, but with a critical difference. It always allows hosts and guests to get to know each other before bookings, and it has a privacy option for those listings that do not want to rent to strangers. It is designed so that private listings can easily build up big guests lists of relevant potential guests. You can suss out potential guests before sharing any details!
If you’ve got ideas on what we can and should do, please let us know! We welcome any feedback. You can read about our pricing model here and learn more about us with our FAQ.
We just got out of beta, and we’ve got tons more coming out in the next few months!
Aloha,
Justin
CEO and Founder of Friends and Guests
Justin, better to start your own thread than hijack another 
All the best and I look forward to your contributions! Zandra
Your friend is doing pretty well, but I’d be surprised if Chicago isn’t seasonal.
July of this year was my best month ever, with gross just under $7000, and net just under $5700. (I only compare expenses such as water/electric/cleaning that I wouldn’t have to pay with a full-time rental–so that’s not counting property tax, insurance, etc.) If every month was like July I’d be all set. My expected gross for November is under $3k, and I don’t usually get last-minute bookings so I don’t expect more.
So I agree that Chicago has a long way to go, but it will probably get there. A 2BR going for $9k a month must be a pretty amazing place: even if it’s booked back-to-back (which has never happened to me more than once or twice), that’s around $300 a night, which is far more than the average 2BR price in my neighborhood.
I am an Airbnb host in the Catskill Mountains but my primary residence is in NYC and I support this law whole heartedly. Own your own building? Knock yourself out. But those of us who live in a cooperative living environment - a rental, co-op or condo - have a legal right to the quiet enjoyment of our homes without being exposed to the comings and goings of tourists and strangers, not vetted by our landlord or co-op boards. I want Airbnb out of multi-family buildings in NYC. Chesky thinks he can bully us with a bullshit lawsuit? Think again.
Agreed and good to know I’m not alone! Co-op in New York, house down here. Wouldn’t dream of trying Airbnb at the apartment.
DC! Also in Monticello but trying to sell that 
Ha! A Brooklyn Puppeteer Hipster wants to rent out his apartment as a STR despite signing a lease that clearly said that was not allowed. There’s a hipster joke in their somewhere, but darned if I don’t really find it funny anymore. It just comes down to ‘I wanna do what I wanna do despite the community of my building and the laws I agreed to when I signed the lease.’ Sorry, not sorry.
I’m thinking this doesn’t affect me here in the Adirondacks. But, my county is going to start a 4% tax I must pay. I’m fine with that. I think my prices are at their max however.
The NY law only applies to cities with over a million people. Essentially, only New York City.
You sure only NYC has a population above 1m?
LA population of 3.9 mill
Chicago population of 2.7 mill
Philadelphia population of 1.6 mill
Houston population of 2.2 mill
Etc etc
It is a New York State law. LA, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston are not in the State of New York.