Rick Steves On Why You Should Think Twice Before Staying In An Airbnb
By CAITLIN FLYNN
There's certainly an appeal to staying in an Airbnb when abroad. However, Rick Steves points out a major downside: the impact on local residents.
Steves says that Airbnbs "dislocate pensioners and ruin neighborhoods. Landlords [...] can make more money renting to short-term tourists than long-term local people."
As reported by The Guardian, Cherylyn Houston and her family had to vacate their cottage in northern Wales because the landlady could make four times as much running an Airbnb.
Despite submitting multiple applications, Houston was unable to find a new long-term rental in her price range, so the family ended up spending four months in a B&B.
Due to this, popular vacation destinations are putting restrictions on Airbnbs. Barcelona has banned renting individual rooms entirely, and Portugal has banned new Airbnb licenses.
When Irvine, California, banned short-term rentals in 2018, long-term monthly rent decreased by 3%. Hopefully, restrictions in larger cities will have a similar impact.