And now for something completely different…

We used to stay in B&B's in Amsterdam out on the edge of town. We took trams into the center city.

B&B owners discovered they could sell their places as condos rather than work so hard. And they divided and sold their properties at big profits.

Over the years, we've seen a great increase in the price of regular hotel properties in Amsterdam, and there are relatively few B&B's available in the suburbs. The best hotels for the money are business hotels out by Schiphol Airport and on the edge of town.

as you are quoting Monty Python, I thought I would reply to the particular issue with another pithy Pythonism - The Ambiguity is in the Box.

And don't forget that Amsterdam is also actively discouraging the British lager lout type tourist from coming in the first place

So they are banning cruise ships, and, restricting short term rentals. On top of that I seem to remember seeing a recent article about them wanting to tighten the drug laws some more.

I guess time will tell.

Hope it will work. Housing is anyway a problem in the Netherlands, so tackling overtourism in Amsterdam will bring some relief but will certainly not be the final word in this respect. Nevertheless reducing overtourism makes a place more livable for the residents, so any attempt to achieve this deserves to be applauded.

So they are banning cruise ships

Amsterdam is not banning cruise ships, just relocating them, and then over time. See separate threads for accurate reportage on that issue.
Also putting a cap on the number of flights allowed into Schiphol.

This is the way it should work. All these sorts of decisions pick winners and loosers (one man's over tourism is another man's second home in the country), and if you have to do such a thing the democratic process is the way to go. It will be interesting to see what the unintended consequences are over time.

To be honest i would like to see a few changes in my town. Changes that discourage the European Trust Fund Brats. We should offer free public transportation to Prague or Bucharest.

We actually have the same issue right here in Florida. Seasonal rentals are saved and not available for year round workers who need places to live. In Ft. Myers alone last year I read rents increased 35%. Hourly workers have to travel 60-90 minutes just to get to a job because of high or non-available rental properties. The concept of AirBNB has turned your average condo owner into a rental business all over the world and locals pay the price.

What is next? Dinner being served by locals in their home at a cost less than a restaurant? If someone can rent a room in their house or rent out their condo, why can't people sell meals in their dining room? I know there are laws everywhere to prevent this, but it sounds almost the same to me. Aren't cooking "classes" already doing this and skirting some health regulations because it is a class?

Anyone on here teach cooking classes in their home or know someone? What are the rules?

Food for thought, pun intended.

1. You assume “year round workers” could afford to live in beach front condos if there were no AirBnb
2. You assume hourly workers could afford to live in beach front condos if there were no AirBnb
3. Are you prepared to sell your home at a price that hourly workers can afford?
   
4. Cost of housing is up nationwide. Maybe the 600,000 AirBnb did contribute in some locations, but there are 142 million homes in the US, so its more than AirBnb’s.

If you want to buy a home today, expect to see prices 40% higher
compared to February 2020, according to Zillow. In the third quarter
of 2023 alone, NAR reports that home prices grew in more than 80% of
U.S. metro areas year over year.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/housing-market-predictions/#:~:text=If%20you%20want%20to%20buy,metro%20areas%20year%20over%20year.

1. AirBnb HAS turned many condo owners into rental business owners. And has enabled a lot more people to own a condo for their own use as well. And the overwhelming majority of all AirBnb hosts are “local”.
2. Dinner being served by locals in their home is a great idea. Check out: https://www.eatwith.com/

But again, I am fully supportive of banning all Airbnb if thats what the community votes to do. Its their home, not mine. I just say be careful what you wish for, because you might not like what you get.

You assume “year round workers” could afford to live in beach front condos if there were no AirBnb

You assume hourly workers could afford to live in beach front condos if there were no AirBnb

The sad part is we are not talking about beach front rentals. These are rentals that are miles from the beaches. We live in an area 4 miles from the beach and people pay $4000-5,000 per month January through April.to be in the Florida warm weather.

If an AirBnB apartment can get $175.00 per night. That is over $5k per month potentially. Even at a 50% occupancy rate it is way better than what you could get renting to a local resident looking for a place to live near where they work on a monthly basis. I get why owners become "landlords" and I believe in the open market, but the real truth and fact is local workers get displaced because of them. This is one of the reasons certain areas of cities here and in Europe have trouble finding workers. People just don't like long commutes, regardless of the ease of public transportation, which in the US is generally pathetic.

But again, I am fully supportive of banning all Airbnb if thats what the community votes to do.

I get why owners become "landlords" and I believe in the open market, but the real truth and fact is local workers get displaced because of them.

Both very good points, and I think it goes back to the crux of the matter here; which is that it boils down to local government. If the local elected officials aren't taking the residents as a whole into account, then it's up to the residents to vote them out and elect people who will take a serious look at these issues. But of course, one of the problems here is that people in this country don't vote. Our voting levels, I would wager, are probably among the lowest of all democracies, especially when it comes to local elections.

Threadwear, Mardee: You are both absolutely correct ........... in certain situations; possibly the minority of the situations. I wont argue that.