Interesting Take on Airbnb

[Dave Van Horn]

Just stumbled upon this article that I think others in this thread would appreciate. It makes some interesting points about the common opinions on "disruption", how people use Airbnb, and really the good/bad of the app since it's inception. 

It also offers some valuable statistics they may help other BPers hone in on their short term rental strategy!

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/...

Would be curious to hear other members take on it...

[Gloria Wiekert]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing! The impact on rents in Chicago is low - only 4.9% of active listings are commercial according to the fivethirtyeight article that's linked. A majority of landlords here, big and small, prohibit the use of AirBnb as part of their lease terms, and the Chicago Association of Realtors has included the option to do so in their standard lease. Additionally, many condo associations, especially high rises, ban AirBnb outright or stipulate that the minimum length for leases is 12 months which effectively acts as a ban. Of course we still have plenty of AirBnb listings and not all landlords who ban its use monitor their tenants, but I think it's enough of a deterrent to prevent AirBnb from taking too many available units from locals. I've had a few clients try to find condos to buy and rent exclusively on AirBnb and it can be done, but I warn them to prepare for long tedious process of finding listings in buildings that don't have restrictions.