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Amsterdam Using Airbnb Listings To Identify Illegal Hotels
An anonymous reader writes "In a move that might dampen the popularity of Airbnb's site for Amsterdam, the city government is now using the accommodation listing service as a source of tips about illegal rental property. 'Airbnb is never a smoking gun,' said Jan-Jaap Eikelboom, spokesman for the city of Amsterdam, regarding use of the service. But the government does use Airbnb and its competitors to compare its own nuisance data with street listings on sites like Airbnb, and has been doing so for a while, he said. This combined information can come in handy when investigating suspicious buildings and can help with spotting illegal activity, he said."
I for one have never heard of it.
thats news to me.
And why do you specifically mention governments? Business also wants information. If I'm going to the store of a certain coffee seller for new capsules, they ask me lots of questions about the type of coffee machine, its location, the variants of coffee I prefer, how many people are using the machine etc.pp. Departement stores often ask me for my ZIP at the cashier. Online shops always want to know where I first heard of them. None of those information is necessary to proceed with the sale. I still get asked.
As far as I know, hotels have strict rules what they have to report about their guests to the police (e.g. country of origin, home address and passport number), and thus the city of Amsterdam wants to know who has to report. If an acommodation service with publicly available information helps them to improve on their internal data, they will do it.
Amsterdam needs to regulate hotels due to serious safety concerns. You know, checking for fire code regulations, that kind of thing. If the city doesn't do it, then people just 'trust' the people running the place to ensure its safety. Last year at least two people died, and Amsterdam is serious.
http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/82520/uitslaande-brand-nieuwezijds-voorburgwal
Few were surprised to later learn that building was being used as an illegal, unregulated hotel.
If anyone can rent their 'whatever' via airbnb, then such an unregulated and dangerous market would flourish.
Three years ago I set up a group trip to Amsterdam. Two weeks, 16 people, everything paid for up-front (food, transportation, accommodations). When I take groups on trips to large cities, I choose apartments because you get to live amongst the locals instead of being in a hotel where you get 'American-style service and amenities' (I can get that in America, thank you very much). I took a special trip ahead to set everything up and check everything out. Seven luxury apartments all in the historical center, all beautiful... everything checked out to my liking. I rented from three different agencies (web-based), all of which I visited in-person on my scouting trip and everything seemed legit.
When we arrived four months later, I was warned by our drivers that he needed help to sneak the luggage into each apartment so nobody might see us. Turns out, it's illegal to rent apartments in the city of Amsterdam. Foreigners (and even locals) had been buying up properties at a rapid rate and then renting them out to tourists for huge profits. After signing away over US $70k for the accommodations, I found out we were all breaking the law, and worse, if we were found out we would all be kicked out immediately with no refunds. I have arranged many trips like this to different countries, and I was completely blind-sided.
Thankfully nobody was vacated from their apartment, but I must say it added a great deal of stress to the trip!
In a city where there isn't enough property to go around for the locals, having the city converted into makeshift hotels and apartment rentals creates a problem for the local population. Prices soar as the supply dries up and people are forced to move outside the city center and commute when (by design) they shouldn't have to.
It also kills the flavor of the community. Anyone who has ever spent any time in Prague can attest to this. Almost no locals live in the heart of the city - everything has been converted to hotels and vacation rentals. I talked to dozens of Czechs in the two weeks I was there and only two of them lived in the city. To get a feel for the local people you have to leave the heart of the city (beautiful but total tourist trap).
So I can see why Amsterdam has taken these measures, I just wish they were communicating it better to travelers.
Extremely common? It's really different from country to country; the Swedish market is strictly controlled, while just next door in Norway the market is free and open.
It's not just in Amsterdam but also in New Amsterdam - this is playing now on New York Public Radio's morning news program:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newtechcity/blogs/new-tech-city-blog/2013/feb/05/nyc-tells-airbnb-hosts-dont-get-too-cosy/
"The majority of Dutch people live in government regulated housing"?! This is yet another sweeping statement devoid of factual information. Is there a lot of government regulated housing? Yes. Is it abused by subletting for WAY over the rent being paid? Yes. But the majority of people are living in government regulated housing? Wake up, man.
There is a general feeling that the government "owes" you something, but that appears to be with the "have-nots". Housing, holiday allowances, etc. The sense of entitlement here is amazing. It is time for a change - work for it or don't get it. This goes for housing, etc.
I bought my house in the centre (of Amsterdam). I chose the neighborhood for lots of reasons, and I pay for it, sometimes at the detriment of lots of other things I want (NOTE: not things I am "entitled too"). People the world over live where they can afford. That is how it works.