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Airbnb cuts half of San Francisco listings as new laws kick in
San Francisco's strict short-term home rental laws just kicked in on Wednesday, and are already having a big effect on SF-based Airbnb. Listing plunged from over 10,000 to around 5,500, dropping around 4,760 listings, the site told the San Francisco Chronicle. Wednesday midnight was the deadline for hosts to register homes with the city for a $250 fee, or face fines as high as $1,000 a day.
Amsterdam will limit Airbnb rentals to 30 days per year
Last year, Amsterdam limited Airbnb rentals to no more than 60 days in a calendar year but that is about to be halved according to a report from DutchNews.nl. The city's executive board agreed to the proposed shortened limit today and housing alderman Laurens Ivens said, "I recognize that reducing the length of time is not the solution to city congestion but it will reduce the problems caused by tourists in some areas and will make it less inviting to use your home as a way to earn money."
Judge sides with Airbnb in lawsuit from US apartment landlord
Airbnb may have just dodged a bullet. A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled against major American landlord Apartment Investment & Management Co (AIMCO) in its lawsuit accusing Airbnb of helping tenants violate their lease agreements through unapproved short-term rentals. The judge determined that Airbnb was protected by the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet services against liability for the content posted by their users. It's the tenants that are responsible for the rule-breaking listings, the court said, not Airbnb for hosting them.
Alamo Drafthouse to open video rental store with rare VHS tapes
Do you miss the days when finding a movie to watch meant browsing the local video store, hoping that you'd stumble across some rare gem? Alamo Drafthouse sure does. After amassing collections from small shops, the enthusiast-driven theater chain is opening a "reimagining" of rental stores, Video Vortex, that will sit in the lobby of the company's future Raleigh location. It'll include Blu-ray and DVD titles, but the real highlight will be a "massive" selection of rare VHS tapes, some of which never made the leap to digital. Alamo will even rent you a VCR (complete with an RCA-to-HDMI adapter), since you probably don't have one hooked up to your 4K TV.
Redbox returns to internet video with On Demand service
The last time Redbox tried online video in earnest it... didn't go so well. The company's Redbox Instant was effectively trying to challenge Netflix head-on, which seemed foolhardy even in 2013. After lots of teasing, though, it's ready for a comeback. It's launching a Redbox On Demand service that offers movies and TV shows (notably, including new releases) for purchase or rent -- it's steering clear of subscriptions this time. You can stream videos or download them for offline viewing, and it's available across a wide range of devices from the word "go." You can watch wherever you are with Android or iOS, while living room viewers can use Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku boxes or smart TVs from LG and Samsung.
Airbnb will add VR previews of rooms and cities
Airbnb has been expanding to serve users' other needs, from partnering with WeWork to find desks for traveling customers to investing in apartment complexes for season-length rentals. But the company isn't neglecting its main rental service. Today, Airbnb announced it has plans to implement the cool technologies du jour -- virtual and augmented reality -- to give tenants a closer look at the rooms they're looking to reserve.
Facebook Marketplace can help you find a new place to rent
Facebook is rapidly expanding its offerings in its Marketplace section, pulling oft-searched items like used cars into its Craigslist competitor. Now the company is bringing housing rentals from Apartment List and Zumper into the fold, letting US users browse and search "hundreds of thousands" or rental units in Marketplace.
Amazon is finally killing what’s left of Lovefilm
After starving Blockbuster to death, the streaming age is preparing to mount another head on its wall. Lovefilm By Post -- yes, the subscription movie rental service you forgot about long ago -- has begun notifying the last, loyal holdouts that it's shutting up shop on October 31st. The culprit, of course, is all those newfangled, convenient streaming services that have slowly stripped consumers of their desire to wait for DVDs and Blu-rays to pop through the letterbox.
Redbox bets DVD rental kiosks are making a comeback
Redbox has spent years trying to reduce its dependence on disc rentals, and not without reason. You don't have much as incentive to rent from a kiosk when online video (including from Redbox) is just a heartbeat away. That doesn't mean the company is giving up on the idea, though -- in fact, it just made a fresh commitment to the concept. CEO Galen Smith has revealed that Redbox will add a net total of 1,500 new DVD kiosks across the US, and will add more still in 2018. Don't think of this as an attempt to pretend the internet doesn't exist, mind you. Instead, it's about a smarter use of resources.
Apple reportedly working to rent new movies early on iTunes
According to Bloomberg, Apple is in talks with major movie studios to offer early rentals on iTunes. The report, which cites sources familiar with the ongoing discussions, suggests 21st Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., are trying to find a partner to help them rent films "as early as two weeks" after they first hit theaters. That said, Bloomberg does note that the Hollywood overlords may "end up choosing another technology platform" instead of iTunes, although no specifics were given.
Airbnb drops its lawsuit against New York
Some of Airbnb's larger US legal battles are winding down quickly. In the wake of a settlement with the state, the rental listings company is dropping a lawsuit against New York that fought a ban on short-term rentals where the tenant isn't present. State assembly member Linda Rosenthal describes this as a victory over a "foolhardy and frivolous" complaint, although there is a degree of compromise involved. Officials won't aim to directly punish Airbnb, Rosenthal says. While they'd never intended to single out Airbnb in the first place, the focus will instead be on the people abusing services for bootleg hotels and similarly sketchy operations.
Airbnb will limit Amsterdam rentals to 60 days a year
One of the sticks that is used to beat Airbnb with is that the company cares nought for social cohesion or its effect upon communities. That's why it's big news to see that the home-sharing firm will comply with property rental regulations in the Netherlands. From January, homeowners in Amsterdam will only be able to sell time in their place for 60 days in a calendar year, unless they already have specific permission to offer more. The Wall Street Journal believes that the move could be the solution to the on-going war it's fighting with cities across the globe.
Airbnb now requires that hosts accept anti-discrimination rules
Remember how Airbnb said it would ask you to agree to a non-discrimination policy if you wanted to host guests? That's now in effect. As of November 1st, hosts must abide by rules forbidding them from discriminating against guests. In the US, they're explicitly barred from discrimination based on factors such as race, nationality, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. Hosts can label shared living spaces as open solely to same-gender guests (to discourage creeps) and warn disabled guests about accessibility problems, but those are the only major exceptions.
Airbnb bans multi-listing hosts in New York and San Francisco
Airbnb knows that city and state governments are eager to crack down on abuse of its home rentals for makeshift hotels, so it's taking action before it has no choice. As of November 1st, residential hosts are banned from offering multiple listings in both New York state and San Francisco -- you can't just buy up a string of apartments in the hope of turning a profit. At least in New York, it will also implement a three-strikes policy that permanently bans repeat offenders. It's not yet certain that Airbnb will institute similar rules in other areas, though it wouldn't be surprising if they spread elsewhere.
Airbnb claims Santa Monica ban violates the Constitution
Airbnb isn't done with lawsuits over home rental laws it doesn't like -- not by a long shot. It's suing Santa Monica over municipal code that effectively bans "vacation rental" services through severe restrictions (you have to be home and obtain a business license, for example) and reporting requirements. For one thing, it claims that the rules violate multiple aspects of the US Constitution. They're allegedly a violation of free speech by dictating what content people can publish. Airbnb also claims that they infringe on search and seizure rights (and the Stored Communications Act) by requiring the disclosure of sensitive customer info without legal procedures, and tread on due process rights because they're both "vague" and don't notify you of potential lawbreaking.
Airbnb rentals can play havoc with your mortgage
Renting out your home on a service like Airbnb is supposed to be good for your bottom line, but it's now clear that it can create some headaches if you're a homeowner. The Wall Street Journal is warning that banks may turn down your attempt to refinance your mortgage if they learn that you've rented your home on Airbnb. Simply speaking, banks tend to see homes as either personal residences or investments and don't like the risk associated with the latter. While some banks may allow a gray area between the two, others won't be so kind -- Bank of America, for example, won't give you a home equity line of credit if there's a "material amount" of commerce in your home.
Grover is like Rent the Runway, but for gadget lovers
Add one more monthly expense to my budget. Just kidding, I don't have a budget. (I'm not very fiscally responsible.) But whether you're financially cavalier or a careful spender, Grover's recent arrival in the US is good news. The company lets you rent consumer electronics at an affordable monthly fee (compared to full retail prices, at least) 30 percent of what you pay going toward your purchase of the device, should you eventually choose to buy it. I tried out the service (only available in NYC for now) and, much to my surprise, am having a hard time not handing my entire wallet over.
Airbnb hopes to redesign small towns
For Airbnb, it's not enough to try to shape city policies on home sharing -- it wants to shape the cities themselves. The service tells FastCo Design that it has created an innovation lab, Samara, whose aims include rethinking architecture and urban planning. If Airbnb can spark new life in small towns, the reasoning goes, it can create "new types of commerce" and attract more rentals to areas that might be on the decline. Samara's initial effort is a communal housing project for the small Japanese town of Yoshino (due to open soon after its October arrival), but there's talk of similar work for other small towns as well as new product designs, software and "economic models."
New York votes to ban ads for whole apartments on Airbnb
New York already makes it illegal to offer your whole apartment for short-term rentals through services like Airbnb, but it's giving that legislation some added bite. As part of a flurry of end-of-term approvals, the state's assembly and senate have voted for a bill that would make it illegal just to advertise your entire place for a short (under 30 days) rental. You'll face a $1,000 fine the first time you're caught, $5,000 the second time and $7,500 the third. Governor Cuomo still has to sign the bill into law, but that's likely to be a mere formality.
Berlin bans renting whole apartments through Airbnb
One of the biggest concerns with Airbnb is its effect on housing prices -- when people turn entire apartments into makeshift hotels, it tends to drive up apartment rental rates and punish locals searching for homes. Berlin isn't having any of it, though. After a two-year transition period, the German city has enacted a new law (the oh-so-catchy "Zweckenfremdungsverbot") that bans short-term rentals of whole apartments through Airbnb and similar online services. You're now restricted to renting individual rooms unless you get a special permit.
