Re:NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400
by seren on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @11:19AM
(#5744235)
I assume that hotels have to comply to additional regulations (safety, hygiene, etc) and taxes. In this context, an AirBnB hotel would be a de facto hotels, without all the legal constraints. So this is not fair, to your competitors.
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Re:NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400
by invisible on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @01:39PM
(#5745297)
So it is OK for people to live there (health-wise) but not OK for people to stay there temporarily? I mean, if there are 200 people in a building and it burns down does it really matter if they were there temporarily or permanently? Bizarre.
The only way justification I could see is that if it were not hygienic, there is a chance of a outbreak of a virus happening (but that is no different than the metro or a flea market).
Re:NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400
by pavel_lishin on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @01:54PM
(#5745417)
> * if there are 200 people in a building and it burns down does it really matter if they were there temporarily or permanently?*
It absolutely matters, and your scenario is a very serious one. Permanent residents know where the fire exits are, and which hallways are dead-ends. Temporary residents may not even be aware which windows open onto a fire escape.
Re:NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400
by robrenaud on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @02:46PM
(#5745852)
Given that deaths by fire in NYC were in a record low in 2012, when AirBNB rentals in NYC were presumably at a record high, maybe the lack of fire regulations aren't actually that big a risk.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/nyregion/58-fire-deaths-in...