Post by High Priestess on Nov 20, 2017 16:42:25 GMT
It's not clear what is going on in Tel Aviv -- is there a mass conversion of apartments to Airbnb rentals, such that long term housing is threatened? Or are these more scare tactics by anti-Airbnb forces??
You decide....
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.823690?v=3EFFD1FC7CA892424983CBB5F18380E8
You decide....
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.823690?v=3EFFD1FC7CA892424983CBB5F18380E8
Not long ago, Airbnb was touted as the salvation of budget travelers. It was at the forefront of a tourism revolution that made it possible, as part of a sharing economy, to find accommodations in big cities without having to pay for an expensive hotel. But lately something about the company has changed. It has become a platform in which many of its landlords are seasoned traders and expert tax-evaders.
Today, pnly one-third of the apartments advertised on Airbnb in Tel Aviv are still the kind of property where an innocent owner is just trying to rent it out to earn a little extra income. All the rest are being rented by people who’ve made it a business. They earn an income that is several times higher than what they could fetch for long-term rentals, and many don’t pay taxes, are not subject to any regulation (regarding fire extinguishers, exits, etc.) and use false profiles to depict themselves as friendly college students and the like.
Equally surprising is that the Tourism Ministry is encouraging this activity. Many other countries impose restrictions on these sorts of platforms, but that is not the case in Israel. Tourism Ministry director-general Amir Halevi explains the ministry’s position “Our goal is to increase the supply of rooms. This year a record is going to be broken with more than 3.5 million tourists coming here,” he says. “We need as many accommodations as possible. We will work toward this on all fronts, including converting office buildings into hotels. Right now, Airbnb is a good solution for us.”
But a review of the latest figures shows that the hotels and the short-term rental platforms coexist just fine in Tel Aviv, and both are flourishing. Someone else is paying the price. Long-term apartment renters in Tel Aviv appear to be the main victims.
Today, pnly one-third of the apartments advertised on Airbnb in Tel Aviv are still the kind of property where an innocent owner is just trying to rent it out to earn a little extra income. All the rest are being rented by people who’ve made it a business. They earn an income that is several times higher than what they could fetch for long-term rentals, and many don’t pay taxes, are not subject to any regulation (regarding fire extinguishers, exits, etc.) and use false profiles to depict themselves as friendly college students and the like.
Equally surprising is that the Tourism Ministry is encouraging this activity. Many other countries impose restrictions on these sorts of platforms, but that is not the case in Israel. Tourism Ministry director-general Amir Halevi explains the ministry’s position “Our goal is to increase the supply of rooms. This year a record is going to be broken with more than 3.5 million tourists coming here,” he says. “We need as many accommodations as possible. We will work toward this on all fronts, including converting office buildings into hotels. Right now, Airbnb is a good solution for us.”
But a review of the latest figures shows that the hotels and the short-term rental platforms coexist just fine in Tel Aviv, and both are flourishing. Someone else is paying the price. Long-term apartment renters in Tel Aviv appear to be the main victims.
