6:08 pm ET
Aug 22, 2014


Airbnb to Expose 124 Hosts to New York Attorney General

    • Both AirBNB and Uber are extremely successful. But how successful would they be if they had to compete by the same rules as their main competitors: the hotel industry and the taxi industry? Glorifying their business model as being new and novel and brilliant is like glorifying the first guy to tie a string around a subway token to cheat the turnstile. That guy found a way to help commuters travel cheaper as well.

      I'd be a fan of AirBNB and Uber if they were successful after one of two things happened: either they are held to the same regulations and taxes as their competitors; or their competitors are relived of their regulator and tax burden.

      But either of those things happened, AirBNB and Uber would fail. They can't compete unless their competitors are crippled while they remain unburdened.


      The laws may be unclear but her lease is almost certainly not.

      Few leases allow for subletting, because the landlord doesn't want unknown and possibly destructive people living in the unit. Landlords now scan Airbnb to see if their properties are listed. Violate the sublet clause of your lease and you'll find yourself out on the street.

    • If you are a service provider for Uber or AirBNB, ... just remember that these companies are un-regulated an they will dump you at the first hint of trouble. They will remind you it is 'peer-to-peer', and that they were just providing the 'App', so you are on your own.

      ... and it goes both ways. If you get raped and mugged by an Uber driver or an AirBNB host, you are on your own to buy all the ointments you need to ease your pain :)

    • Rather than regulate these companies out of business, why not work with them to address any concerns the current regulations were meant to address. And to clarify some misconceptions articulated by other commentators, these companies compete with the traditional providers not just on cost. They offer convenience, oftentimes better service, and in the case of AirBnB, a unique product. Regarding the so-called dangers of "unregulated" entities, these things can and have happened in licensed cabs and name brand hotels. With respect to lost tax revenue, there was nothing preventing the vendors from reporting the income. In that sense, the NYAG is correct in pursuing the vendors for lost revenue, but please don't miscast these companies as some kind of tax cheating facilitators. They are not.

    • No government, landlord, city official or neighbor has any right to determine who someone let's into their home. Whether or not the host is present or not is irrelevant. Provided the guests staying do not cause any disturbance, nobody has a right to decide who YOU let into your home. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

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