Presentation:
Ethical issues:
- Not paying taxes
- Taxes are not payed properly
- Insurance policies are voided
- Not complying with local laws
- contravene local housing and rental laws.
- on top of essentially being illegal, safety standards with fire and environmental zoning laws are often ignored, insurance policies are voided, local tenants are often inadvertently affected and taxes are not paid properly.
- to fob the problems off onto the individual host’s and saying it is their responsibility to comply with local laws.
- They may technically be right, but many people, including the attorney general of New York, are arguing that putting up a set of guidelines for individual hosts just isn’t good enough and many cities around the world are becoming more and more determined to push back against Airbnb services
- Reducing the housing stock
- it’s vast growth has encouraged property speculation and has been fueled by investors and property speculators.
- This reduces the stock of housing which is a huge problem in many countries and cities around the world where demand for affordable housing already far outstrips supply, and pushes up house prices even further which prices out many locals from buying a property or even living in the area they grew up in or need to move to for work.
- Breaking up communities
- the growth of Airbnb is drastically changing the nature of local neighbourhoods and businesses, with many accusing the company of breaking up communities by forcing locals out in favour of a production line of tourists and short term letters.
- Local residents rights to live in their homes without adjacent houses being turned into party hotels or being disturbed by inconsiderate tourists are being ignored. Problems with noise pollution and litter from waves of tourists, crime and safety are all issues that local homeowners are now having to deal with when they shouldn’t have to.
- Lack of transparency
- There is no transparency, so travellers have absolutely no idea what they are walking into and no protection in the eyes of the law like they would get in a hotel, guesthouse or other industry compliant accommodation.
- Over-tourism
- Whole towns and neighbourhoods are now being displaced, with locals and residents moving out and businesses closing down, with new service industries springing up to serve tourists instead.
- Where once tourist towns and areas were limited to very specific areas, the spread of Airbnb alongside the huge surge in mass tourism has allowed that to disseminate everywhere.
- Laws and regulations do exist to prevent hotels from springing up in residential streets, or curtail those that are there to protect homeowners rights too, but Airbnb circumvents that.
- Take Iceland for example, a country that is already suffering from overtourism and where tourists regularly now outnumber local Icelanders, where the once pristine natural landmarks are now being ruined with the sheer number of tourists trampling through them and the hotel industry is struggling to meet demand, Airbnb is being allowed as a last resort to cater to the sheer number of tourists. House prices are up 18.3% this year compared to 6.3% the year before and locals are being priced out. Locals are even being turfed out of rental accommodation because landlords can make more money with Airbnb.
Why they did it pt1:
Not paying taxes
- Airbnb hosts often do not follow state regulations, for example having fire emergency equipment in the house. Airbnb hosts also avoid paying taxes because they are renting out their house to random people constantly. These actions are illegal which is why airbnb get a lot of backlash. It is hard for the company to keep track of their hosts rules and tax records. Perhaps, airbnb should require hosts to show their tax records in order to continue being a host. They should also have to show pictures of safety plans, like fire escape plan and other legal precautions that every home needs. They should also show proof of insurance in order to stay in line with the legality of renting out a home.
Not complying with local laws
- Many hosts may not comply with local laws. This could cause Airbnb to get in legal trouble if something were to happen when a guest is at one of the houses. These local laws could be environmental zoning laws that many hosts often ignore. Hosts should be made aware of all the local rules and guidelines, so that their visitors will not have any issues. Thus, Airbnb would be able to steer clear of legal trouble. Recently, Airbnb has created a Terms and Conditions for the hosts to read through that outline the local regulations. This is a very positive step for the company. Otherwise, the company could actually be seen as illegal.
Reducing the housing stock
- Airbnb, being as successful as it is, has really affected the housing market. It has increased the housing stock which makes it much more expensive to buy property or houses in the area. This is a big issue because finding an affordable home is already a very big struggle for a lot of people. Airbnb is intensifying this struggle even more, possibly leaving more people without a home.
Why they did it pt2:
- Breaking with communities
- Lack of transparency
- Overtourism
According to the above six ethic events, if Airbnb had not changed from these events, they would have, or have faced, four consequences:
Airbnb can lose credibility and reliability（As a service industry, the loss of consumer trust is fatal.）
Financial loss
Business’ reputation declines
Productivity declines
（These results may lead to the survival of the company crisis.）
Takeaways (why is it important?):
Airbnb tries to provide a better accommodation experience for its customers, but ignores market rules and social influences. So it has some negative ethical consequences.
It disturbs the security of the original society. As a large number of floating population pour into residential areas, tourists may not abide by the regulations of the community, Like noise pollution, tourist waste, crime and other problems caused by these residents. All of these is affecting the normal life of other residents.
Airbnb USES a "two-sided platform" between holiday and business travelers on one side and renters on the other. There are drawbacks to this business model.Airbnb is not completely bound by the laws and regulations of the hotel industry, and the price control and housing information supervision system is not perfect. A large proportion of rental housing has entered the home stay market, and the supply has been reduced, which will inevitably lead to the increase of long-term rental prices and increase the burden on residents. But it certainly has a positive business impact by offering customers a more personalized stay. So it increases competition with the traditional hotel model.
Conclusion
- No matter what it’s roots in the sharing economy, much like others in that industry such as Uber, they are now officially mainstream and corporate, and they need to act and be treated as such.
- Hotels and B&Bs are regulated, they pay tax, they conform to local laws and regulations, and they assist the tourism industry by complying with its rules and helping to regulate tourism.
reference：
Bermused, Backpacker. Is Airbnb Unethical And Irresponsible? 22 Feb. 2020, bemusedbackpacker.com/2017/10/23/is-airbnb-unethical-and-irresponsible/.
Coldwell, Will. “Airbnb's Legal Troubles: What Are the Issues?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 July 2014, www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/08/airbnb-legal-troubles-what-are-the-issues.
Kung, E, Barron, K, & Proserpio, D. (2019, April 17). Research: When Airbnb Listings in a City Increase, So Do Rent Prices. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2019/04/research-when-airbnb-listings-in-a-city-increase-so-do-rent-prices