Airbnb CEO admits short-term rentals hurt housing & communities
We're a top 5 Airbnb market in the U.S., the company lobbies here
We're a top 5 Airbnb market in the U.S., the company lobbies here
In Times and Forbes, he also concedes real estate investors are out of control. But like the party house ban announcement, it's come to nothing,
We're a top 5 Airbnb market in the U.S., the company lobbies here
We're a top 5 Airbnb market in the U.S., the company lobbies here
We're a top 5 Airbnb market in the U.S., the company lobbies here
Cape Cod Times (2/8/21) reported Airbnb met with our Chamber of Commerce "recently." Who else? Did they talk Airbnb-friendly form-based zoning?
Imagine if the Cape's 19,000 short-term rentals were homes again
2020 census calls Barnstable's short-term rentals "vacant" housing
2020 census calls Barnstable's short-term rentals "vacant" housing
Cape Cod Times (2/8/21) counted. Our housing crisis is a policy choice. Now locals are pinning hopes on Barnstable's new backyard granny flat ADU bylaw.
2020 census calls Barnstable's short-term rentals "vacant" housing
2020 census calls Barnstable's short-term rentals "vacant" housing
2020 census calls Barnstable's short-term rentals "vacant" housing
A Town official admits to "a lot of pressure around investors looking to invest in properties to make them short-term rentals." WatchHere
At least 20 Barnstable short-term rentals are registered to Town officials
At least 20 Barnstable short-term rentals are registered to Town officials
At least 20 Barnstable short-term rentals are registered to Town officials
These were found not through transparency, but homework. And their family members who run Airbnbs? Another story, and more conflict of interest. C'mon.
In GIZ zone for "real neighborhoods," three are owned by a Town official
At least 20 Barnstable short-term rentals are registered to Town officials
At least 20 Barnstable short-term rentals are registered to Town officials
The special Growth Incentive Zone (GIZ) in Hyannis was intended to create “real neighborhoods…for people of varied means to live as neighbors." Well done.
Airbnb, Vrbo, and other short-term rental platforms are gentrifiers
Need another reason? The U.S. averages 7.6 Airbnb shootings per month
Need another reason? The U.S. averages 7.6 Airbnb shootings per month
Inside Airbnb data: hosts are 5 times more likely to be white even in primarily Black neighborhoods. White hosts in Black neighborhoods earn 530% more than Black hosts.
Need another reason? The U.S. averages 7.6 Airbnb shootings per month
Need another reason? The U.S. averages 7.6 Airbnb shootings per month
Need another reason? The U.S. averages 7.6 Airbnb shootings per month
Fine print says Airbnb has no idea who it's sending into homes. There was an Airbnb shooting at 64 Dumont Drive, Hyannis and a neighborhood lockdown. Papers refused to cover.
**PHEW** Barnstable's ADU law is aligned with 8 out of 9 Cape Cod towns
**PHEW** Barnstable's ADU law is aligned with 8 out of 9 Cape Cod towns
**PHEW** Barnstable's ADU law is aligned with 8 out of 9 Cape Cod towns
We support ADUs (though it's hard to see how voluntary granny flats are a housing strategy). Our law says no investors, no double rents. The pro-investor side promises to be back.
The town was one amendment away from wiping out single-family zoning
**PHEW** Barnstable's ADU law is aligned with 8 out of 9 Cape Cod towns
**PHEW** Barnstable's ADU law is aligned with 8 out of 9 Cape Cod towns
Had the ADU law passed without a last-minute, split decision Town Council amendment, investors could have created multi-family lots: a back door, no debate zoning change.
Rent-by-the-hour residential pools: will Barnstable enforce the law?
Rent-by-the-hour residential pools: will Barnstable enforce the law?
Rent-by-the-hour residential pools: will Barnstable enforce the law?
You can't rent your pool for parties like it's Chuck E Cheese. Town Hall knows, and now we'll see if it enforces Massachusetts law. Watch this space.
And now: turning homes into permanent vacation timeshares
Rent-by-the-hour residential pools: will Barnstable enforce the law?
Rent-by-the-hour residential pools: will Barnstable enforce the law?
Pacaso.com buys $2mm+ homes in destination communities, furnishes them, and sells them to 8 co-owners who timeshare (or short-term rent their time to "guests").
Get ready for use-agnostic, developer-decides "form-based zoning"
Get ready for use-agnostic, developer-decides "form-based zoning"
Get ready for use-agnostic, developer-decides "form-based zoning"
Better hope you feel lucky! If we are to care only how a property looks, not how it's used, then Airbnb is cool, so are Pacaso.com's timeshares, anything goes.
No more village plans: the town of Barnstable has a plan for you
Get ready for use-agnostic, developer-decides "form-based zoning"
Get ready for use-agnostic, developer-decides "form-based zoning"
Last #1 goal: "livable neighborhoods for year round residents while providing housing opportunities for all." Now? Airbnb-friendly, use-agnostic, developer-decides zoning.
Airbnb & VRBO altered the market; only GOOD local government can help
Locals can no longer find or afford housing.
Workers are forced to move further and further away from their jobs. Here in Barnstable, businesses don't have the staff to operate anywhere near normal. Customers are urged to bring their "patience."
Would-be home buyers — individuals, couples, families — are now competing in bidding wars against capital-armed investors.
Studies by the Wharton School, Economic Policy Institute, Harvard Business Review, MIT and UCLA all agree:
- The sheer number of Airbnb listings in a zip code is associated with increases in property prices and rental rates
- Housing supply shrinks as properties shift from serving local residents to serving tourists
- While some Airbnb hosts are "mom and pop" home sharers, the field is now dominated by providers who've developed a professional business model from short-term rentals
In a truly civil society, human necessities like shelter wouldn't be commoditized, financialized, and sold like Apple iTunes songs or Uber rides. Scott Galloway, professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, defines the Menace Economy as “the pursuit of wealth at the expense of other human beings." That's what this is.
Short-term rentals are big business invading your neighborhood.
There's nowhere you can live in Barnstable where the home next door can't be changed to a Motel 6
If you can still find housing here, there's no street you can have a home where a real estate investor can't buy next door and operate a full-time Airbnb/Vrbo tourist lodging business. The chair of the Zoning & Regulatory committee that approved the policy admitted it on NewsRadio 95 WXTK.
The Town said it has no idea what effect its investor-friendly short-term rental policy will have
In February 2020, the proposal was presented to the Town Council. A question was asked: "Do we know the effect it will have on the town in 1, 3, or 5 years?" The answer was "No." Fact is, the Town's zoning change allowing commercial lodging everywhere, next door to you, is a Pandora's Box.
Only 1/3 of hosts are real home-sharers, business interests put them out front for PR
These moms and pops, who often need the rental income, are used as "human shields" to distract from what short-term rentals are now: large scale conversion of homes into businesses by investors and corporations with 25+ listings. (We don't know anyone who objects to our traditional summer rentals.)