New Proposed D.C. Airbnb Bill

[Anonymous]

I find the posts above odd seeming and not entirely genuine feeling.

Frankly I don't think this bill seems nuts. I don't think it is good for people to be constantly renting out their place like a revolving door in a regular living area. If I wanted to live next to a motel I would. If my neighbor were suddenly renting to someone new every few weeks I would be really uneasy and want local authorities to try to do something about it.

But I don't live in DC or close in so hopefully not my problem anytime soon...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes it's my residence. The bill was created by the Hotel industry (and Councilmember McDuffie). They are trying to close down Airbnb in Washington, DC.

Have you read the bill? You can only host 15 days a year while being away and are fined up to $7,000 if you break the very cumbersome rules (e.g. outrageous "hotel-type) inspections that shouldn't be imposed on individuals).

I have multiple rooms in my home that I rent. Under this bill, I can only rent one (whether I am home or not.

Many of my guests who have come for work or were moving to DC and looking for a "community" (not hotel-like) experience stayed with me between 15-30 days. The new bill prevents these stays.

And my mother is sick and lives out of town. Last year, I would go out of town to visit/help her during stays were folks were repeat visitors and have become friends. One woman who was in town on business stayed with me three times. On the third time, I felt very comfortable being gone from the house and she did too. Also not possible with bill.

The bill is far too restrictive. It's intent is to shut down Airbnb. Like I said, it was created by the Hotel industry (and Councilmember) McDuffie. They don't care about the everyday person looking to Airbnb, just protecting their profits.

Very sad.

You misunderstand the bill, or Airbnb lied to you. You can rent out multiple rooms. You can rent 365 1/4 days a year, as long as you're in the home. The 15 day cap is only for when you're on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's next? Death to Uber too?

These politicians don't get innovation.

I'm not opposed to regulations, but if you review the proposal (up to $7,000 in fines, hotel-type inspections, etc).

These are homeowners who are opening their houses to others (not like hotel) but often these folks become friends. It's a completely different model.

It's as simple as this... hotels were losing money because of Airbnb. They put lots of money and lobbying behind destroying Airbnb...

Enter Kenyon McDuffie... problem solved!

The problem is that 50-70%+ of AirBnB bookings are done via professional managers with multiple properties. The situation you described ("opening their houses to others (not like hotel) but often these folks become friends...") is very much in the minority.

The city council has an obligation to the voters to ensure that there is a healthy supply of real estate for full time, tax paying residents. When landlords start pulling units off the market to peddle them as hotel rooms - without the proper zoning and licensing - they are imposing a negative externality on their neighbors and the rest of the city.

So, instead of shutting down the 30% (those are the stats I've seen) of commercial operators, the goal is to shut down (or greatly limit) everyone else???

The folks I know who Airbnb their homes would not be renting it otherwise. The rooms would S it empty when they are gone for long stretches of time. So instead of the government allowing these folks to rent then and collect millions
In taxes for the city, they prevent it and then collect personal gifts from the hotel industry.

This has to be a political play between the hotel industry and McDuffie. Millions of dollars are being diverted from the city so that the hotel industry can supposedly get more bookings (which they won?'T get because the guests are different).

Nope, the goal is to shut down the commercial operators. The only way to do that is to ensure everyone gets a license, so the bad ones can be screened out. Licenses are already required by the way, so if you're doing it without a license you're running an illegal scheme. If you have a license, you're completely fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The folks I know who Airbnb their homes would not be renting it otherwise. The rooms would S it empty when they are gone for long stretches of time. So instead of the government allowing these folks to rent then and collect millions in taxes for the city, they prevent it and then collect personal gifts from the hotel industry.

This has to be a political play between the hotel industry and McDuffie. Millions of dollars are being diverted from the city so that the hotel industry can supposedly get more bookings (which they won?'T get because the guests are different).

How much did DC collect in occupancy taxes from AirBnB last year? Were all of the AirBnB taxes collected? It's my impression that there are a lot of scofflaws who don't pay taxes on unregulated rentals, which is my major problem with AirBnB.

[Anonymous]

Lots of Astroturf'd comments in this thread.

Hi, Airbnb (and your local DC PR firm)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of Astroturf'd comments in this thread.

Hi, Airbnb (and your local DC PR firm)!

Hi, big business hotel association PR firm!

[Anonymous]

Hope everyone is declaring the income from your rental property or basement. I know in other areas the local government is monitoring the online market addresses against declared income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The folks I know who Airbnb their homes would not be renting it otherwise. The rooms would S it empty when they are gone for long stretches of time. So instead of the government allowing these folks to rent then and collect millions in taxes for the city, they prevent it and then collect personal gifts from the hotel industry.

This has to be a political play between the hotel industry and McDuffie. Millions of dollars are being diverted from the city so that the hotel industry can supposedly get more bookings (which they won?'T get because the guests are different).

How much did DC collect in occupancy taxes from AirBnB last year? Were all of the AirBnB taxes collected? It's my impression that there are a lot of scofflaws who don't pay taxes on unregulated rentals, which is my major problem with AirBnB.

It's collected automatically from Airbnb . In other words, guests pay Airbnb, then Airbnb takes out us cut and the lodging tax, then pats out the host. Airbnb hosts can't avoid paying lodging tax. At least in D.C. I'm a D.C. Airbnb host and this automatic reduction makes it very easy for me. I used to send in $ as a landlord to D.C. But I always felt like it was just going into the picket of a D.C. Employee. Seems less likely when it's a huge chunk of $ from a big company like Airbnb.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for typos!


Airbnb takes out its cut and the lodging tax and then pays out the host.

Before Airbnb started this automatic collection of lodging tax I would do it myself and send in to DC, but I always feared it was just going into the pocket of a DC employee. Seems less likely since Airbnb is sending in a big check of all airbnb hosts (I'm sure it's millions of dollars) to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anyone seen the updated version of this bill? Reported recently but no links posted. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-council-to-vote-tuesday-on-barring-residents-from-renting-out-second-homes-on-airbnb/2018/09/27/d78f9806-c298-11e8-a1f0-a4051b6ad114_story.html?utm_term=.a2952d528a24

[Anonymous]

Here it is. https://t.co/6XdjYVBBSy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's next? Death to Uber too?

These politicians don't get innovation.

I'm not opposed to regulations, but if you review the proposal (up to $7,000 in fines, hotel-type inspections, etc).

These are homeowners who are opening their houses to others (not like hotel) but often these folks become friends. It's a completely different model.

It's as simple as this... hotels were losing money because of Airbnb. They put lots of money and lobbying behind destroying Airbnb...

Enter Kenyon McDuffie... problem solved!

Uber is definitely in the sights of the DC taxi industry and its council friends.

[Anonymous]

"Uber is definitely in the sights of the DC taxi industry and its council friends."

I take Uber sometimes too but it's 100% understandable that the taxi drivers find it wildly unfair that they are required to comply with all sorts of rules and price structures but other companies offering basically the same service are not.
I think that is an entirely fair point and if the Council thinks those rules are not needed for Uber they should be honest & eliminate them for taxi's too - vs. having one set of competitors with entirely free license to operate and the other set burdened by tons of red tape (merited or not).

[Anonymous]

In my condo building, our bylaws prohibit short term rentals. No one wants a bunch of short term partyers, no one wants an increased risk of bedbugs, and no one wants a situation where there are a lot of people we don't know wandering the halls.

These hotel taxes and taxi regulations exist for a reason. People will only come to your city and use the services if they don't encounter a lot of shady behavior. I don't take Uber, because anyone can drive for them. Taxi drivers are background checked and have to convince a medallion owner that they aren't too crazy to rent a cab for a day. I don't want people renting dodgy places without fire exits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for typos!


Airbnb takes out its cut and the lodging tax and then pays out the host.

Before Airbnb started this automatic collection of lodging tax I would do it myself and send in to DC, but I always feared it was just going into the pocket of a DC employee. Seems less likely since Airbnb is sending in a big check of all airbnb hosts (I'm sure it's millions of dollars) to DC.

After Airbnb takes out its cut and the lodging tax, there are still state and federal taxes on the income right?