NY Times: Airbnb and Miami Beach Are at War. Travelers Are Caught in the Crossfire

Regulations/Tax Issues
1

"The Florida city, like others around the country, is trying to control the home sharing market. Renters often find out their weekend home is illegal when they get a knock on the door. "

Any Miami folks here?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/09/travel/airbnb-miami-beach-war.html

2

If I lived in one of those buildings I’d be angry too. And a big problem is rental artbitrage. Someone rents several apartments and then sublets them on Airbnb for significantly more and pockets the difference.

And the renters saying “if I’d known it was illegal…” half of them are lying. In 2014 when I was looking for a NYC Airbnb I saw many listings that said something like “don’t tell anyone you are an Airbnb guest,” “tell the doorman you are my cousin,” “don’t talk to the neighbors,” etc. And like one guy said, if it were a homeowner renting a few times a year no one would even notice.

I’d bet half of us wouldn’t want to live next to an Airbnb if we had a choice.

2 Likes
3

Interesting…I own the condo 2 doors down and listed it on Airbnb. My guests behaved well.

I’m changing to long term rental because the rental market in my area has changed, not because I didn’t have good Airbnb experiences.

4

But they were your guests and your money. As you know I have great guests too but if I’m honest with myself I don’t think I’d want to live next door to a host.