Trying to stay under the radar seems like it courts risk of deportation, as I've known _lots_ of folks who got a visit from police at their place of stay who were not aware of this. Virtually all of them settled things fine but it was more headache than had they just done what they're supposed to.

I believe in a hotel stay, your hotel registers you online so that you don't have to deal with this.

Her uncle, my wife, and I went to four police stations. All refused to register my stay and told me to go the next place. The final one told me that they require to see our marriage certificate (which we didn't have as I never read once that it was needed), so we gave up.

I've been many times now, and I've never had a problem although it's a city that foreigners probably do not travel to as much as say Shanghai or Beijing.

It is interesting in the context of AirBnB - with the registration system they can't use the same "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission" approach they used in US. I have seen very successful foreign run businesses, for example a friend who imported steel in China, do really well for many years because the government wasn't interested in their industry, and then all of sudden find himself against several competitors and be completely out of business in the space of 6-12 months. I'm bullish on AirBnB but depending on success in China is a risky strategy.

You also don’t need to be married to stay in a private home.

Fine up to 2,000 RMB, more info:

https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/ShowTopic-g294211-i642-k123478...

I am moderately involved with various sinology students from Europe. And have traveled to China personally.

Personally I stayed at various AirBnBs within China and registered at the police in Bejing and Shanghai.

The host provided a signed letter confirming where we are staying. With that letter I headed to a local police station where I gave the letter and had to fill out a form with basic personal details and address of where I was staying.

In return I got a stamped letter confirming my stay.

Anecdotes from others: People who have registered late for various reasons (finding apartment, inconvenient arrival combined with work, etc)

I have as of yet not heard anything experience other than the police saying please register on time next time and still got their stamped confirmation of stay.

One standout story however is someone who looked up a recent political dissident via Baidu and got a visit from the police, nothing really exceptional happened except he got visited at his apartment got told off, had to sign a letter confirming the visit and infraction.

The person in question has been back to china multiple times since.

......How is anyone okay with this..

sorry, what infraction?

(It is a communist nation where disagreeing with the government is tantamount to treason and is treated as such.)

Of course the wealthy here would never know, most places priced in the top 20% expensive accept foreigners. I was a poor student and also worked as a teacher($400/mo) looking for midrange accomodations, not to spend a month's pay on a weekend trip

Yep, one would think that for a government that cares so much about their image they would avoid visitors having to go through this nonsense.

For budget travellers to Beijing -- 如家 accepts foreigners last I checked. 7天 used to but they don't anymore as of a couple years ago.

If a hotel can do it, surely there’s no reason why Airbnb can’t figure it out?

The downside was it was all incredibly insecure. They'd be snapping passport photos on their personal phone, and one apartment had a book in the living room with passport numbers and personal information of every previous guest.

So, technically it works now in different countries, but Airbnb really needs to assist these owners and get some proper procedures in place.

This was reckless and stupid of them and demonstrates what AirBnB often does -- that they put their business above the safety of their guests and hosts.

A good innovation for AirBnB would be to automatically notify the relevant tax authorities about their hosts income from illegal subletting, ahem, I mean "renting out a spare room"

Obviously there are tons of competitors in that area in China. They have far more employees and use typical Chinese aggressive marketing. The most notable one, Tijia cooperates with the main travel providers - CTrip, Expedia, Qunar. For me as a foreigner Airbnb works well, although in some rural areas it's better to go with Tijia.

Airbnb entered the Chinese market in 2015 – the same year in which Tujia became a unicorn. The global giant has been slow to expand in China, with 80,000 listings compared to Tujia’s 400,000. Indeed in 2017, Airbnb Inc's founders were moments away from merging their China business with Tujia. Chesky decided to block the deal out of concern that it would harm the Airbnb brand.

Afaik, Airbnb focuses on the quality of its listings. The company has visited thousands of houses and removed those that do not meet quality standards. The company launched Airbnb Plus, a premium service. The company works with opinion leaders and adapts its products to the market. Thus, apartments can be ordered through mini-programs in WeChat, and checkout using WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Link to article in Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1475857... (2017)

I just had to go to local PSB (police) office to register for staying as a foreigner.

The biggest problem was of course the language as the police haven't spoken a word of English. They also didn't know Poland (issuer of my passport) is a real country.

Here in London there is a 90-day rule (a property can’t exceed 90 days total short-term rentals per year), and it’s 60 days in Amsterdam. This is enforced on the AirBnB platform, but landlords will try to get around it by listing on multiple platforms or by having multiple listings for a property.

This reasoning given is 'security', that is, the city should know in case of an emergency ( say, a nuclear attack ) who to rescue. Ahum.

Of course, there is the nightly tourist taxes, that might have something to do with it too.

I suppose it's cultural differences. There's a staunchly individualistic attitude in the US and the idea of a central government tracking its citizens is very unpopular. I get it, too. If you take a look at the "Anmeldung" process in Germany, where the government has a list of everyone and their race/religion/nationality, along with exactly where they live/which building/which floor/which side of the building, you can see how such a system could be dangerous if Germany were to ever shift from the liberal democracy it is today.

Also, as another child comment said, filling out religion and gender is optional, and no form ever asks for race (at least in Germany and Switzerland I know that for sure).

On the other hand, having better data about citizens makes a lot of things more efficient and fair in government and politics. As I said, I think the US Census is a disaster and always leads to unfair outcomes for minorities and lower class people.

But I agree, it would be better if they woulnd't ask for religion at all.

The American model is highly distributed and need-to-know. Many government forms ask for your current address, but it is not automatically shared with the police and there is no requirement to update it in a timely manner.

Many Americans are highly skeptical of the police, and for good reason. Expecting people to go to the police to register when moving would be a complete non-starter in most neighborhoods that I have lived.

Everywhere else in the world, if you strongly support a party, you join it, and pay a membership fee, and the party adds you to a register. Then, you can take part in party activities, like internal elections.

In the US, you register as a supporter of a particular party with the state. Then, everyone registered can take part in (some) party activities, like primaries.

It's a weird system, and i don't know how it started, but because Americans don't realise it's weird, there isn't much written about it!

First we have a system of primary elections, and in many jurisdictions your party registration status determines which primary you can vote in. You have to be registered Democrat to vote Democrat, registered Republican to vote Republican, etc. The local election board is the one who oversees to vote, so they need to know your party registration in order to make sure you get the right ballot and the right ballot information (which is sent by mail beforehand). In many jurisdictions you can also "decline to state" and then in a primary election you have to tell them each time which ballot you want.

Second, it's used in state redistricting. Having this information be public allows auditors to check if redistricting is resulting in gerrymandering.

In other countries parties run their own candidate selections as private business and the state can’t meddle in it, so the state doesn’t have to ask what what your affiliation is.

Disclaimer: I'm not complaining about how it is in Germany/other countries in Europe. The trust in government is quite high here, and for a good reason :)

As it relates to ethnicity, you're right. I can no longer edit my original comment though.

Also, in the US it is state governments that are the authority for most things pertaining to where people live: property and rental law, identification cards, property taxes, voters registration, etc. Most states do require people to change their voters registration and drivers license when they move between states.

It’s not that strange that you don’t register your address with the federal government, when in fact, the only interaction that many Americans have with the federal government at all is their yearly tax filing.

It's the same in Germany and Switzerland (and I think in a lot of other European countries): You register with your local government when you move, not the federal government.

What are you referring to? We have a every-ten-year census mandate built into our constitution. It’s been an ongoing thing since the 18th century.

The census results are mostly kept private and anonymized, with only aggregate data being shared.

I do agree it would be difficult for the US to shift to such a system given the requirement is constitutional rather than merely a procedure of the civil service.

In Finland it's not really handled by police, usually done with Posti. Other great thing is that it also updates your details to most places...

In Germany, it is required that when you move to a new apartment you walk into the nearest police station or town hall within a few days and fill out a form telling them your new address, who you live with, what their religious affiliations are, etc. You will get in trouble with the police if you do not do this.

In China they take it even further, and even tourist have to do the same. If you stay in an Airbnb in China and do not register with the local police, it is possible you can get in real trouble. This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least.

I'm sure it all goes into the same database.

Yes, I believe they do (Vreemdelingendienst).

For tourists, it's something that's rarely enforced. And if you stay at a hotel they'll handle it for you (or presumably, maintain records in case the police have questions).

Machine translated, then lightly edited by me:

> Short stay in the Netherlands

> In anticipation of the amendment of the Vreemdelingenbesluit (Foreigners' Order), you no longer need to report to the vreemdelingenpolitie (foreigners' police) as a foreign national coming to the Netherlands for a maximum period of 90 days. There is one exception to this new rule. The Dutch representation abroad or the Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Military Police) may, in special cases, require you to report to the vreemdelingenpolitie in person within three days.

Here's an official source, in Dutch - Google Translate will get the general point across: https://www.politie.nl/themas/kort-verblijf-vreemdelingen-20...

Until recently WeChat Pay and AliPay could only be used with Chinese bank accounts in China, and to get a Chinese bank account you need to get a Chinese mobile number first.

If you are a frequent traveller and read Chinese, it isn't especially hard to get a mobile number and bank account other than preparing to waste half a day standing in lines. After that, life is heaven for you because you now have access to all the convenience of the myriad e-commerce websites and apps.

Any other visitors would have tough time getting train tickets, booking accommodations, renting bicycles, hell, even buying from vending machines or automated convenience stores, because people really don't use cash anymore, but the system is really only designed for domestic users without much thought for short-term visitors and tourists.

Is it? I always hated it. I'd be very curious to learn what makes it feel like a good booking platform. It doesn't even show you where the room is located! (only approximate location). Seems way worse than e.g. booking.com, the only reason really to use them might be lower prices... if they still have an advantage here, which I'm genuinely not sure anymore (a while ago I decided I don't want to deal with their crap regardless of how much money I might save).

[edit] "Is it?" was not a rhetorical question. I'm not upset or anything if you downvote, but can you also add what do you feel makes it a good platform? Or what did I say that was wrong?