Post by High Priestess on Oct 11, 2015 1:58:37 GMT
Abby shared on October 9 2015:
Cease and Desist letter:
We thought we had researched everything properly when we started AirBNB out of our home, but today we received a cease and desist letter stating we can no longer operate AirBNB out of our home. We have been open with our neighbors about what we do and have had mostly exceptional guests who have been extremely respectful of our home and our neighborhood. (The only minor issues have occurred in the home which wouldn't be a disturbance to any neighbors.) I'm thinking our older, retired neighbors are the ones who may have said something as they said they didn't understand the concept and wondered if we were fearful to have strangers staying with us. I reached out to another host in our area to see if we are the only ones being targeted, or if it's happening to all hosts. I'm incredibly disappointed this is happening, but am more fired up than ever to discuss with other hosts and AirBNB staff at the Open in November. My husband has a meeting set up with the city planner next week to discuss. Our city doesn't have a single hotel, motel or bed and breakfast. More than anything, we love welcoming people into our home. And we have made lifelong friends because of it. Any thoughts or advice would be welcomed! Thanks in advance. :-) Abbie
C C (CC):
Says who, Abby?
The city itself?
Abby:
Yes, the letter came from they city.
Evelyn:
Hi.. Do you want me to contact you with Airbnb folks? There is also Peter from the San Francisco group who has done an amazing job getting hosts together for the issues in their city. Here in NY Airbnb has an entire team dealing with the city, because they don't like us. It was hard at a city council meeting hearing how many people just hate us hosts.
Abby:
Evelyn, that would be incredible! We've only been hosting since May, and have already had 24 reservations. My husband and I have become so passionate about AirBNB and will do whatever it takes to continue to move forward. For now, we are going to honor our reservations, but aren't going to be able to accept any more. I'm so thankful for this community to be able to reach out, and can't wait to connect with others in Paris.
Evelyn:
I just sent them an email. You can read a lot of the work we have done here in NY on my site:
tiny.cc/EvelynBadia
Sheryl:
I am sorry to hear this has happened. It must be especially disappointing as you are offering a service in a market where it is needed and enjoying it so much!
In your research, did you find any laws applying to short term rentals? Did the city's letter mention any law, rule, regulation or guideline in ordering you to stop your rentals? I ask because it will determine what you will need to do next. Whatever the case, this battle will have to be fought on the legal front. If the city is legally correct, you will have to lobby for a change in the law. If the law allows for short term rentals, you can seek legal recourse for the unlawful interference in your business.
These fights will have to be won one by one in various jurisdictions until the laws on the "sharing economy" are all sorted out. I wish you the best in yours.
Fleur (fleur)
This sucks guys. I think local council's don't know how to handle this. Our local council recently did a new tourism strategy document and had absolutely no mention of airbnb or any other home sharing in it, only hotels and motels, i found it so bizarre. You should plead your case. My clientele has changed dramatically over the last year. It used to be ALL overseas visitors but this year it's changed to a 50/50 mix. I've had lots of people who live interstate or a few hours away here for Dance eisteddfods, football carnivals, shooting competitions, Japanese flute festival (yes that's a thing?). These are people who are families that probably couldn't have afforded to come if they had to pay for hotels. Some of them are 2 hour driving distance away so they would have just driven home for the night but instead they stayed with us, ate at our local restaurants and bought food from our local grocery stores. It's a huge win and they aren't exhausted from driving long distances. I also get heaps of English grandparents who stay here rather than with their children/grandchildren because they have no room (i think because they are too in each other's face too). It really is filling a niche market and making it more affordable for people to travel. Good luck pleading your case.
Monica:
The very FIRST thing I did before setting up my guest house, even before advertising it anyway, was to check with my municipality. Once I was given the green light by them I had my insurance inspector come for an inspection and then I set up liability insurance. Only then did I start accepting guests. Now I have progressed to being listed at the Tourist Bureau. All legal - that's the best way.
Abby:
Thank you all for such thoughtful and encouraging words. Kevin officially has a meeting set up with the city planner on Monday. Your messages certainly are helping us build a case. As I wait to hear from other hosts in the area, I still get really discouraged thinking that our neighbors reported us. Our young neighbors (20s-40s) all know of Airbnb and get it, but the retired neighbors looked at us cross-eyed when we tried to explain the concept. I'll report back after the meeting. Fingers and toes are crossed that we can be the change our city needs!!
Maria and Larry (maria)
Good luck!
Deborah:
We are a retired couple (well, I am semi-retired) and when we explained it our young neighbors, they had never heard of it but are supportive.
Abby:
Maybe you can talk to our neighbors?? ;-)
Bekah and Brian (beeandbee):
A&K, if you got a letter from the city, it was not necessarily neighbors who turned you in. Our city doesn't quite know what-all to do about short term renters, either. Currently it's flat-out illegal (unless you have a B&B license, which we do) and there are all sort of folks who sit at their computers all day long sussing out exactly which households are STRs. They send the info to the city, and the city sends out the letters.
You need to find out what the laws are for where you live. If there are no B&Bs or hotels like you say, then there may be no regulations in place whatsoever. I hope your meeting with the city planner goes well. Make sure to discuss zoning and safety & permitting issues with them. Different govt depts have been made responsible for STRs in different cities.
Abby:
They did cite a law that we clearly missed against "tourist homes" in our city. I'm still waiting to hear if we've been singled out or if other hosts have been targeted as well. I will pass all your tips along to Kevin to discuss at the meeting. Thank you!
Rick:
It's generally a question of zoning-- there might be a way to get a variance to zoning restrictions, once people understand the concept. Detroit, of all places, should be eager to get as many warm bodies back into the city as possible.
Deborah (High Priestess)
HI Abby
As Evelyn mentioned, Peter of San Francisco set up the Home Sharers organization largely to do advocacy for hosts in SF, to help get good regulations passed there, so he knows an incredible amount about the process. I work with Peter and another host, in organizing for cities on the East side of the SF Bay Area. Peter's group, Home Sharers of SF, has an Airbnb group like this one for New Hosts Forum, and both his group and New Hosts Forum will be moving to the same new site within a month since Airbnb is planning to make big changes to groups. That new site is www.globalhostingforum.com aka www.homesharersforum.com
There is actually a whole department in Airbnb that exists solely to help hosts out in cities where the local government is "anti" Airbnb, and you can contact Carlee at that department and ask for advice on your situation. They have a small department and so they can't help out in every single community, but they may have some general advice. We of Home Sharers organization can help you too. You can find out more about the Airbnb dept that works on this, called the Community Mobilization Team, here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/16/airbnb-mobilization-team-community-relations
PS -- Evelyn knows everyone at Airbnb, she can help you a lot!! And as Evelyn also mentioned she has done a lot of work in NYC and I'm sure she can tell you all about that. I watched Evelyn on video when she went to NYC city council. She was a strong voice there!
(Note this thread is also posted here: globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/729/cease-desist-letter)
Cease and Desist letter:
We thought we had researched everything properly when we started AirBNB out of our home, but today we received a cease and desist letter stating we can no longer operate AirBNB out of our home. We have been open with our neighbors about what we do and have had mostly exceptional guests who have been extremely respectful of our home and our neighborhood. (The only minor issues have occurred in the home which wouldn't be a disturbance to any neighbors.) I'm thinking our older, retired neighbors are the ones who may have said something as they said they didn't understand the concept and wondered if we were fearful to have strangers staying with us. I reached out to another host in our area to see if we are the only ones being targeted, or if it's happening to all hosts. I'm incredibly disappointed this is happening, but am more fired up than ever to discuss with other hosts and AirBNB staff at the Open in November. My husband has a meeting set up with the city planner next week to discuss. Our city doesn't have a single hotel, motel or bed and breakfast. More than anything, we love welcoming people into our home. And we have made lifelong friends because of it. Any thoughts or advice would be welcomed! Thanks in advance. :-) Abbie
C C (CC):
Says who, Abby?
The city itself?
Abby:
Yes, the letter came from they city.
Evelyn:
Hi.. Do you want me to contact you with Airbnb folks? There is also Peter from the San Francisco group who has done an amazing job getting hosts together for the issues in their city. Here in NY Airbnb has an entire team dealing with the city, because they don't like us. It was hard at a city council meeting hearing how many people just hate us hosts.
Abby:
Evelyn, that would be incredible! We've only been hosting since May, and have already had 24 reservations. My husband and I have become so passionate about AirBNB and will do whatever it takes to continue to move forward. For now, we are going to honor our reservations, but aren't going to be able to accept any more. I'm so thankful for this community to be able to reach out, and can't wait to connect with others in Paris.
Evelyn:
I just sent them an email. You can read a lot of the work we have done here in NY on my site:
tiny.cc/EvelynBadia
Sheryl:
I am sorry to hear this has happened. It must be especially disappointing as you are offering a service in a market where it is needed and enjoying it so much!
In your research, did you find any laws applying to short term rentals? Did the city's letter mention any law, rule, regulation or guideline in ordering you to stop your rentals? I ask because it will determine what you will need to do next. Whatever the case, this battle will have to be fought on the legal front. If the city is legally correct, you will have to lobby for a change in the law. If the law allows for short term rentals, you can seek legal recourse for the unlawful interference in your business.
These fights will have to be won one by one in various jurisdictions until the laws on the "sharing economy" are all sorted out. I wish you the best in yours.
Fleur (fleur)
This sucks guys. I think local council's don't know how to handle this. Our local council recently did a new tourism strategy document and had absolutely no mention of airbnb or any other home sharing in it, only hotels and motels, i found it so bizarre. You should plead your case. My clientele has changed dramatically over the last year. It used to be ALL overseas visitors but this year it's changed to a 50/50 mix. I've had lots of people who live interstate or a few hours away here for Dance eisteddfods, football carnivals, shooting competitions, Japanese flute festival (yes that's a thing?). These are people who are families that probably couldn't have afforded to come if they had to pay for hotels. Some of them are 2 hour driving distance away so they would have just driven home for the night but instead they stayed with us, ate at our local restaurants and bought food from our local grocery stores. It's a huge win and they aren't exhausted from driving long distances. I also get heaps of English grandparents who stay here rather than with their children/grandchildren because they have no room (i think because they are too in each other's face too). It really is filling a niche market and making it more affordable for people to travel. Good luck pleading your case.
Monica:
The very FIRST thing I did before setting up my guest house, even before advertising it anyway, was to check with my municipality. Once I was given the green light by them I had my insurance inspector come for an inspection and then I set up liability insurance. Only then did I start accepting guests. Now I have progressed to being listed at the Tourist Bureau. All legal - that's the best way.
Abby:
Thank you all for such thoughtful and encouraging words. Kevin officially has a meeting set up with the city planner on Monday. Your messages certainly are helping us build a case. As I wait to hear from other hosts in the area, I still get really discouraged thinking that our neighbors reported us. Our young neighbors (20s-40s) all know of Airbnb and get it, but the retired neighbors looked at us cross-eyed when we tried to explain the concept. I'll report back after the meeting. Fingers and toes are crossed that we can be the change our city needs!!
Maria and Larry (maria)
Good luck!
Deborah:
We are a retired couple (well, I am semi-retired) and when we explained it our young neighbors, they had never heard of it but are supportive.
Abby:
Maybe you can talk to our neighbors?? ;-)
Bekah and Brian (beeandbee):
A&K, if you got a letter from the city, it was not necessarily neighbors who turned you in. Our city doesn't quite know what-all to do about short term renters, either. Currently it's flat-out illegal (unless you have a B&B license, which we do) and there are all sort of folks who sit at their computers all day long sussing out exactly which households are STRs. They send the info to the city, and the city sends out the letters.
You need to find out what the laws are for where you live. If there are no B&Bs or hotels like you say, then there may be no regulations in place whatsoever. I hope your meeting with the city planner goes well. Make sure to discuss zoning and safety & permitting issues with them. Different govt depts have been made responsible for STRs in different cities.
Abby:
They did cite a law that we clearly missed against "tourist homes" in our city. I'm still waiting to hear if we've been singled out or if other hosts have been targeted as well. I will pass all your tips along to Kevin to discuss at the meeting. Thank you!
Rick:
It's generally a question of zoning-- there might be a way to get a variance to zoning restrictions, once people understand the concept. Detroit, of all places, should be eager to get as many warm bodies back into the city as possible.
Deborah (High Priestess)
HI Abby
As Evelyn mentioned, Peter of San Francisco set up the Home Sharers organization largely to do advocacy for hosts in SF, to help get good regulations passed there, so he knows an incredible amount about the process. I work with Peter and another host, in organizing for cities on the East side of the SF Bay Area. Peter's group, Home Sharers of SF, has an Airbnb group like this one for New Hosts Forum, and both his group and New Hosts Forum will be moving to the same new site within a month since Airbnb is planning to make big changes to groups. That new site is www.globalhostingforum.com aka www.homesharersforum.com
There is actually a whole department in Airbnb that exists solely to help hosts out in cities where the local government is "anti" Airbnb, and you can contact Carlee at that department and ask for advice on your situation. They have a small department and so they can't help out in every single community, but they may have some general advice. We of Home Sharers organization can help you too. You can find out more about the Airbnb dept that works on this, called the Community Mobilization Team, here:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/16/airbnb-mobilization-team-community-relations
PS -- Evelyn knows everyone at Airbnb, she can help you a lot!! And as Evelyn also mentioned she has done a lot of work in NYC and I'm sure she can tell you all about that. I watched Evelyn on video when she went to NYC city council. She was a strong voice there!
(Note this thread is also posted here: globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/729/cease-desist-letter)