AirBnB - What can WE do about this?

[EmptyNest]

Hi
The reason why airbnb has it's name is that they originally started as Air Bed & Breakfast. They shortened it to airbnb because of branding, but then realised they could get more places to list if they didn't force them to offer breakfast. We're guessing by then they thought their brand was too strong to change their name, so they ended up sticking with it. This is a problem on a lot of B&B sites - the sites claim to advertise bed and breakfasts, but then advertise hotels as well. In some ways they do this to increase profits, but then the question is, are they destroying the experience for people actually just looking for B&Bs?.

Did you note the date this was actually posted?? This is a really old thread :-(

 

[scrambled_eggs]

Just thought I would add my 2 cents. I just joined airbnb in February and it has so far been great. I just list one room on it. I have had one guest so far from Europe that was great and looking forward to another reservation in June. I've been getting a lot of inquires though the site for the room I have listed.

 

[Sanctuary]

What makes them automatically illegal across the board? Aren't short or long term rentals, and what's taxible, regulated by the various states? Not that I really care about those folks taking away my business. The $45/night folks aren't taking anything away from me. A couple of weeks ago, we had a $675 tip for one 8-hour day. So, clearly, I'm not inquiring out of concern that I'm going to lose anything to the $45/night folks. You can't even get me to walk down the dock and open the gate for $45. But, different kinds of accommodations may be subject to different regulations.
Me, for example, I'm not required to collect occupancy tax; we are not subject to inspections other than the occasional boardy by the Coast Guard which has yet to happen; we don't need any special licensing other than an ordinary business license, etc., but that doesn't make us illegal. Heck, we're not even subject to property tax of any kind! I do collect sales tax; I do have commercial insurance (that's where we pay through the nose at five figures annually!); and I do have a commercial state watercraft registration. Yeah, I get it why WE are different, but the same - because we float instead of resting on footers and foundations, we're viewed as a charteryacht rather than lodging, although it's all the same thing - you sleep here, eat here, and pay a daily fee for that. You can even drink here without a liquor license.
Unless or until "BnB" or B&B" is copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise, there will be little anyone can do to stop anyone from using those terms. Afterall, they could mean something different like Boat & Breakfast, or for those topless events ****s & Breakfast (yeah, it happens! Not here, but it happens. LOL There is a niche market for that - just google "boat in the buff" - it's more common than you'd think).
What I'm getting at - I wonder if these other kinds of rentals fall within a different category which allows them to do what they do without it being a crime to do so? I don't know the answer...just wondering. I'd have to go research it and don't have time right now - guest just arriving - gotta run.

 

[Generic]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.)

 

[gillumhouse]

What makes them automatically illegal across the board? Aren't short or long term rentals, and what's taxible, regulated by the various states? Not that I really care about those folks taking away my business. The $45/night folks aren't taking anything away from me. A couple of weeks ago, we had a $675 tip for one 8-hour day. So, clearly, I'm not inquiring out of concern that I'm going to lose anything to the $45/night folks. You can't even get me to walk down the dock and open the gate for $45. But, different kinds of accommodations may be subject to different regulations.
Me, for example, I'm not required to collect occupancy tax; we are not subject to inspections other than the occasional boardy by the Coast Guard which has yet to happen; we don't need any special licensing other than an ordinary business license, etc., but that doesn't make us illegal. Heck, we're not even subject to property tax of any kind! I do collect sales tax; I do have commercial insurance (that's where we pay through the nose at five figures annually!); and I do have a commercial state watercraft registration. Yeah, I get it why WE are different, but the same - because we float instead of resting on footers and foundations, we're viewed as a charteryacht rather than lodging, although it's all the same thing - you sleep here, eat here, and pay a daily fee for that. You can even drink here without a liquor license.
Unless or until "BnB" or B&B" is copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise, there will be little anyone can do to stop anyone from using those terms. Afterall, they could mean something different like Boat & Breakfast, or for those topless events ****s & Breakfast (yeah, it happens! Not here, but it happens. LOL There is a niche market for that - just google "boat in the buff" - it's more common than you'd think).
What I'm getting at - I wonder if these other kinds of rentals fall within a different category which allows them to do what they do without it being a crime to do so? I don't know the answer...just wondering. I'd have to go research it and don't have time right now - guest just arriving - gotta run..

Actually the big problem is that they are not collecting (or else not turning in) taxes and in my area, say they are advertised for $45 and people think it is an actual B & B I appear to be raking it in or being WAY over-priced to those who do not know what a B & Breally is. And surveys have shown that many people do NOT know what a B & B actually is.

 

[agoodman]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Sometimes I will see something new come up on an old post or forum that I may or may not have seen before so if someone has seen the post before, a week ago a month ago a year ago, then just ignore it.

 

[EmptyNest]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I am with you on this but don't know if possible. SWIRT could answer this. Though as some folks have said, they may have missed it previously.
I however find that these old things usually show up because of a spam which was posted.
Sorry to those folks........but I find it annoying to have people comment on stuff that is 6 months old or older.

 

[Proud Texan]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I am with you on this but don't know if possible. SWIRT could answer this. Though as some folks have said, they may have missed it previously.
I however find that these old things usually show up because of a spam which was posted.
Sorry to those folks........but I find it annoying to have people comment on stuff that is 6 months old or older.

.

I am with you on this but don't know if possible. SWIRT could answer this. Though as some folks have said, they may have missed it previously.
I however find that these old things usually show up because of a spam which was posted.
Sorry to those folks........but I find it annoying to have people comment on stuff that is 6 months old or older.

What I wish we could have here is an option to "check off" a particular thread so that it no longer shows up in our list of "Unread B&B Topics".
It's an annoyance to have to click through threads that are of no interest (like this one) to get to the meat of the forum.

 

[Alibi Ike]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Usually what happens is someone new comes across something they want to comment on. If they start a new thread on something that's 'been done' everyone jumps on them and says to read about it before starting it up again. Can't win.
If a topic is hot again it'll get posts. If it isn't it just sinks into obscurity. If it's a troublesome topic it can be closed to comments.
Then again, sometimes it just a spam hit that brings a topic to the fore and no one reads the original date. I'm not sure if locking threads after 90 days is good or bad. I'm pretty good at ignoring stuff.

 

[Innkeep]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Usually what happens is someone new comes across something they want to comment on. If they start a new thread on something that's 'been done' everyone jumps on them and says to read about it before starting it up again. Can't win.
If a topic is hot again it'll get posts. If it isn't it just sinks into obscurity. If it's a troublesome topic it can be closed to comments.
Then again, sometimes it just a spam hit that brings a topic to the fore and no one reads the original date. I'm not sure if locking threads after 90 days is good or bad. I'm pretty good at ignoring stuff.
.

All in all I think this forum is so well designed. Hopefully nobody will really claim that their day is wasted because they stumble on an old thread. It doesn't take that much effort to skip the threads you don't want to read, and I'll say that I can't always remember what was a hot topic months ago, and sometimes I pick up more stuff the second time around.

 

[Sanctuary]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.)

Sorry...didn't mean to offend anyone by "necroposting" (a new term for me!). On other forums I frequent, particularly the Hatteras forum, I have learned a lot by folks who resurrect an old post. In fact, I once saved over $12,000 by the resurrection of an "ancient" post because someone brought up an old issue that I was currently facing with an engine problem. I was ready to pull out the blower, supercharger, and two turbos. Instead, because a four-year-old thread that someone resurrected, I spent $8.35 instead of $12 grand, and fixed my problem. I also learned how to renew 30-year-old paint as opposed to spending $65,000 on a new paint job due to the resurrection of an old thread.
Point is...not all ressurections of old threads are evil or offensive. In fact....I was able to retrieve two photos of my place when she was brand spankin' new, 30 years ago while being delivered to Grand Isle, Michigan, because of an "ancient" thread. I am forever in that person's debt for providing me with that, despite the fact that I stumbled upon it years later. So, I guess that makes me a fan of necroposting. I'll try not to do that here. In other forums, old knowledge is quite valuable. At least is for me...to the tune of five figures out of my wallet!
How many of you have searched on "sheets" and found vaulable information on old threads? So, think about that before anyone goes "locking" threads due to age.

 

[swirt]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I don't consider it necroposting. I would only suggest that if the original post contained dated material that was no longer applicable. Other than that, I would rather have an older thread re-visited than a new post appear and rehash the exact same stuff. I created this as a forum rather than a chatroom because I think there is value in both lasting content and asynchronous discussion.
I welcome all newbies to the forum, and do not want them thinking they can't comment or question on something interesting just because it is a week, month, or year old.
Yes it is true a lot of these older threads bubble up unexpectedly because some spammer comes in and drops a link to leather handbags or matress covers or something, but our members zap spam here so rapidly (thanks everyone) that most people never see the spam that caused the old post to re-surface. If it re-ignites a discussion.. great, that is the purpose of the forum (unless of course the duscussion was a contentious one that lead to hurt feelings or hot tempers, those are best left sleeping or locked)

 

[swirt]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I am with you on this but don't know if possible. SWIRT could answer this. Though as some folks have said, they may have missed it previously.
I however find that these old things usually show up because of a spam which was posted.
Sorry to those folks........but I find it annoying to have people comment on stuff that is 6 months old or older.

.

I am with you on this but don't know if possible. SWIRT could answer this. Though as some folks have said, they may have missed it previously.
I however find that these old things usually show up because of a spam which was posted.
Sorry to those folks........but I find it annoying to have people comment on stuff that is 6 months old or older.

What I wish we could have here is an option to "check off" a particular thread so that it no longer shows up in our list of "Unread B&B Topics".
It's an annoyance to have to click through threads that are of no interest (like this one) to get to the meat of the forum.
.

What I wish we could have here is an option to "check off" a particular thread so that it no longer shows up in our list of "Unread B&B Topics".
I agree with you PT, JB asked for something similar a while back. I haven't found an existing module that offers that feature, and I can't think of a way to program it without dramatically increasing the size of the database and increasing the amount of queries and processing that the site would have to do to decide what it could show you. I'm sure there is a way to do it without taxing the system, but I haven't come up with it yet.

 

[Generic]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I don't consider it necroposting. I would only suggest that if the original post contained dated material that was no longer applicable. Other than that, I would rather have an older thread re-visited than a new post appear and rehash the exact same stuff. I created this as a forum rather than a chatroom because I think there is value in both lasting content and asynchronous discussion.
I welcome all newbies to the forum, and do not want them thinking they can't comment or question on something interesting just because it is a week, month, or year old.
Yes it is true a lot of these older threads bubble up unexpectedly because some spammer comes in and drops a link to leather handbags or matress covers or something, but our members zap spam here so rapidly (thanks everyone) that most people never see the spam that caused the old post to re-surface. If it re-ignites a discussion.. great, that is the purpose of the forum (unless of course the duscussion was a contentious one that lead to hurt feelings or hot tempers, those are best left sleeping or locked)
.

The other side of the coin is that since a subject has already been discussed, people read the thread and are afraid to necropost (for example, I won't ever necropost) and a new and lively discussion doesn't come up because it's been discussed before.
You can post a link to the old discussion, but that doesn't bring today's users forward. Another way of saying it is that YOU today aren't the same as you were in 2009 when that last discussion was started and died. 20 years ago the Internet wasn't important. Three years ago Twitter wasn't. Life changes.
As for chat rooms... that's a completely different animal. I haven't been in one in ten years (and I used to run BBSes.)

 

[Generic]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.)

Sorry...didn't mean to offend anyone by "necroposting" (a new term for me!). On other forums I frequent, particularly the Hatteras forum, I have learned a lot by folks who resurrect an old post. In fact, I once saved over $12,000 by the resurrection of an "ancient" post because someone brought up an old issue that I was currently facing with an engine problem. I was ready to pull out the blower, supercharger, and two turbos. Instead, because a four-year-old thread that someone resurrected, I spent $8.35 instead of $12 grand, and fixed my problem. I also learned how to renew 30-year-old paint as opposed to spending $65,000 on a new paint job due to the resurrection of an old thread.
Point is...not all ressurections of old threads are evil or offensive. In fact....I was able to retrieve two photos of my place when she was brand spankin' new, 30 years ago while being delivered to Grand Isle, Michigan, because of an "ancient" thread. I am forever in that person's debt for providing me with that, despite the fact that I stumbled upon it years later. So, I guess that makes me a fan of necroposting. I'll try not to do that here. In other forums, old knowledge is quite valuable. At least is for me...to the tune of five figures out of my wallet!
How many of you have searched on "sheets" and found vaulable information on old threads? So, think about that before anyone goes "locking" threads due to age.
.

Please, no one was offended at all. First, it was a spam that necroposted, not you. This is an open discussion, in no way would I (or I think anyone) want to inhibit your participation. We are just discussing if it is better to lock a thread and start a new discussion or keep old discussions open and promote necroposting. Everyone should ALWAYS feel free to participate in any way. It is only by interacting that we all improve.
What we are talking about is the pros and cons of opening a new thread to discuss the matter as new, versus posting to an old thread. As I have said, I would never post to an old thread. I would read it, when looking for information, but I would think it's a finished subject and never revive it.

Sorry...didn't mean to offend anyone by "necroposting" (a new term for me!). On other forums I frequent, particularly the Hatteras forum, I have learned a lot by folks who resurrect an old post. In fact, I once saved over $12,000 by the resurrection of an "ancient" post because someone brought up an old issue that I was currently facing with an engine problem. I was ready to pull out the blower, supercharger, and two turbos. Instead, because a four-year-old thread that someone resurrected, I spent $8.35 instead of $12 grand, and fixed my problem. I also learned how to renew 30-year-old paint as opposed to spending $65,000 on a new paint job due to the resurrection of an old thread.
Point is...not all ressurections of old threads are evil or offensive. In fact....I was able to retrieve two photos of my place when she was brand spankin' new, 30 years ago while being delivered to Grand Isle, Michigan, because of an "ancient" thread. I am forever in that person's debt for providing me with that, despite the fact that I stumbled upon it years later. So, I guess that makes me a fan of necroposting. I'll try not to do that here. In other forums, old knowledge is quite valuable. At least is for me...to the tune of five figures out of my wallet!
How many of you have searched on "sheets" and found vaulable information on old threads? So, think about that before anyone goes "locking" threads due to age.

 

[Alibi Ike]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I don't consider it necroposting. I would only suggest that if the original post contained dated material that was no longer applicable. Other than that, I would rather have an older thread re-visited than a new post appear and rehash the exact same stuff. I created this as a forum rather than a chatroom because I think there is value in both lasting content and asynchronous discussion.
I welcome all newbies to the forum, and do not want them thinking they can't comment or question on something interesting just because it is a week, month, or year old.
Yes it is true a lot of these older threads bubble up unexpectedly because some spammer comes in and drops a link to leather handbags or matress covers or something, but our members zap spam here so rapidly (thanks everyone) that most people never see the spam that caused the old post to re-surface. If it re-ignites a discussion.. great, that is the purpose of the forum (unless of course the duscussion was a contentious one that lead to hurt feelings or hot tempers, those are best left sleeping or locked)
.

and asynchronous discussion.

Boy are we good at that!

 

[JBloggs]

The thread was old, new things can come about since then, in fact a few of us are listed with airBnB. So bringing it all back might give some newer details that may be helpful.

 

[gillumhouse]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.)

Sorry...didn't mean to offend anyone by "necroposting" (a new term for me!). On other forums I frequent, particularly the Hatteras forum, I have learned a lot by folks who resurrect an old post. In fact, I once saved over $12,000 by the resurrection of an "ancient" post because someone brought up an old issue that I was currently facing with an engine problem. I was ready to pull out the blower, supercharger, and two turbos. Instead, because a four-year-old thread that someone resurrected, I spent $8.35 instead of $12 grand, and fixed my problem. I also learned how to renew 30-year-old paint as opposed to spending $65,000 on a new paint job due to the resurrection of an old thread.
Point is...not all ressurections of old threads are evil or offensive. In fact....I was able to retrieve two photos of my place when she was brand spankin' new, 30 years ago while being delivered to Grand Isle, Michigan, because of an "ancient" thread. I am forever in that person's debt for providing me with that, despite the fact that I stumbled upon it years later. So, I guess that makes me a fan of necroposting. I'll try not to do that here. In other forums, old knowledge is quite valuable. At least is for me...to the tune of five figures out of my wallet!
How many of you have searched on "sheets" and found vaulable information on old threads? So, think about that before anyone goes "locking" threads due to age.
.

I totally agree with you! (Sanctuary)

 

[Copperhead]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

I don't consider it necroposting. I would only suggest that if the original post contained dated material that was no longer applicable. Other than that, I would rather have an older thread re-visited than a new post appear and rehash the exact same stuff. I created this as a forum rather than a chatroom because I think there is value in both lasting content and asynchronous discussion.
I welcome all newbies to the forum, and do not want them thinking they can't comment or question on something interesting just because it is a week, month, or year old.
Yes it is true a lot of these older threads bubble up unexpectedly because some spammer comes in and drops a link to leather handbags or matress covers or something, but our members zap spam here so rapidly (thanks everyone) that most people never see the spam that caused the old post to re-surface. If it re-ignites a discussion.. great, that is the purpose of the forum (unless of course the duscussion was a contentious one that lead to hurt feelings or hot tempers, those are best left sleeping or locked)
.

The other side of the coin is that since a subject has already been discussed, people read the thread and are afraid to necropost (for example, I won't ever necropost) and a new and lively discussion doesn't come up because it's been discussed before.
You can post a link to the old discussion, but that doesn't bring today's users forward. Another way of saying it is that YOU today aren't the same as you were in 2009 when that last discussion was started and died. 20 years ago the Internet wasn't important. Three years ago Twitter wasn't. Life changes.
As for chat rooms... that's a completely different animal. I haven't been in one in ten years (and I used to run BBSes.)
.

The other side of the coin is that since a subject has already been discussed, people read the thread and are afraid to necropost (for example, I won't ever necropost) and a new and lively discussion doesn't come up because it's been discussed before.
You can post a link to the old discussion, but that doesn't bring today's users forward. Another way of saying it is that YOU today aren't the same as you were in 2009 when that last discussion was started and died. 20 years ago the Internet wasn't important. Three years ago Twitter wasn't. Life changes.
As for chat rooms... that's a completely different animal. I haven't been in one in ten years (and I used to run BBSes.)

Great points, and I agree. If someone does not want to re-visit an old discussion, it is easily ignored... A quick 2 seconds to know you are not interested... I do that with some new topics.

 

[Samster]

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.).

Just to mention it, people, but this is necroposting. Most forums have a rule about necroposting. (Might I suggest that a necroposting rule be enacted and a topic be locked after 90 days or so? Or am I doing a complete faux-pas by suggesting this? (I apologize if I'm going beyond my bounds by suggesting this.)

Sorry...didn't mean to offend anyone by "necroposting" (a new term for me!). On other forums I frequent, particularly the Hatteras forum, I have learned a lot by folks who resurrect an old post. In fact, I once saved over $12,000 by the resurrection of an "ancient" post because someone brought up an old issue that I was currently facing with an engine problem. I was ready to pull out the blower, supercharger, and two turbos. Instead, because a four-year-old thread that someone resurrected, I spent $8.35 instead of $12 grand, and fixed my problem. I also learned how to renew 30-year-old paint as opposed to spending $65,000 on a new paint job due to the resurrection of an old thread.
Point is...not all ressurections of old threads are evil or offensive. In fact....I was able to retrieve two photos of my place when she was brand spankin' new, 30 years ago while being delivered to Grand Isle, Michigan, because of an "ancient" thread. I am forever in that person's debt for providing me with that, despite the fact that I stumbled upon it years later. So, I guess that makes me a fan of necroposting. I'll try not to do that here. In other forums, old knowledge is quite valuable. At least is for me...to the tune of five figures out of my wallet!
How many of you have searched on "sheets" and found vaulable information on old threads? So, think about that before anyone goes "locking" threads due to age.
.

Holy Cow!!

That's an interesting bit of news on how much you saved by reading something "old". Good insight....thanks.