AirBnB is such a scam. The fact that you have to clean it yourself while also paying massive cleaning fees. Plus, the more troubling fact that they have really killed the housing market. I’ve talked to a lot of Vermonters who say their landlords have declined to renew their leases because Airbnb is more profitable. I’m glad this is happening. I only use hotels and I hope we can finally be rid of Airbnb and VRBO

Seethe harder

I get your point, but the flip side of that argument is that the more legislators there are, the more diffuse political decision making power is and the easier it is for locals to access their state reps.

It it's just about money, then I'll agree with your assessment. But I believe it is about more then just money.

If they didn't want families there, they probably shouldn't call them family housing.

Sadly that's what you get when you whittle away at and force out the people who have known and worked at the place for decades. You get outsiders who start making decisions who don't know the place or what they're doing.

Personally now if I have to choose between Airbnb or a hotel, I’m going hotel every time. The fees are ridiculous with Airbnb’s, a lot of times doubling the cost for no amenities, beds that are not nearly as comfortable, and checkout instructions like “take out the trash, strip bed linens, but dirty towels in the washing machine, run the dish washer, etc.”. Where’s the value? The only time we’ll book an Airbnb is if we have to bring our dogs, then we’ll pay the extra $100 in pet fees…

That’s an interesting point. Low interest rates probably made any kind of investment property well within reach for anybody looking to capitalize. It wouldn’t bother me if a few people overestimated the paycheck they imagined.

I think the difference is short term rentals are typically places that would otherwise be lived in by full time residents as opposed to investment properties or vacation homes for the owners to maybe spend a few weeks a year in, if they ever visit them at all. I moved to park city where 40% of the housing stock are short term rentals. These short term rentals put an even bigger squeeze on the housing market for both renters and buyers.

Usually the get away driver gets a cut. This guy didn’t afaik. Was it ever proven he actually knew it was a scam?

These are my symptoms exactly today... When did you start feeling better?

I wonder what hotel occupancy in the Burlington area is on average? I’m sure they max out on big dates like UVM/CC graduation but are most of those rooms empty most of the time? I understand hotel rooms are more efficient space-wise than apartments for short term stay, but if you’re pissed about AirBnB, couldn’t you also be pissed about the 8 hotels within a half mile of Exit 14 in South Burlington? They’re not just run by AirBnB bros, they’re million/billion dollar companies. A couple apartment buildings instead would be beneficial.

Investment in housing should be illegal. There are certain things that should be shielded from profit drives… basic food, water, housing…

The way late stage capitalism works is basically like those comical snowballs going down a hill and getting bigger and bigger.

There is a disproportionate amount of money. And Im not talking about that person who owns part of a town and has tens of million of dollars… Im talking about the ultra rich. Look back into what people like John Rockefeller did…. He crafted the school system to prevent people from really working for themselves and instead wanted people to work for him. People like that craft an entire society into what they want so they can reap the benefits.

Its a late stage capitalism is a sad system when you look at it. We are not far from the dystopian futures they show in movies.

Very well said. So sad though, I loved this school when I started undergrad.

New housing director, likely went to newer degree programs focusing on greed and exploitation. He's doing what the new economic model and greed mechanics expect of him. They should be shamed into resignation.

Hindsight….we protested him in 2020, but it definitely appears we were kicking the can down the road.

As I a former host I was always skeptical of Airbnb impact on the city. There is no doubt it didn’t help, but I think it’s impact was far overstated. The inability to build enough housing to keep up demand has been a problem far earlier than 2012 when Airbnb really started to grow in the area. I recall seeing an old news clipping from the 80’s when Bernie was the mayor complaining about a lack of affordable housing.

so was Jeb right? and just forced out for raising the point two years earlier?

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People that work for hourly wages are dangerously close to not being able to afford to live

yeah, i had lots of memories in that whole block, my grandmother used to work at one of the businesses, restaurants that were there, bad taste in my mouth from both this jerk and the other one....

We pointed that out, our new housing director didn’t know they existed 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Virtually none. Property taxes and upkeep guarantee that that's a losing strategy in the long term. Despite the covid-era spikes in real estate prices, house prices here aren't going up fast enough to justify buying houses and keeping them empty in the hopes of selling them for a profit later. Empty houses here are empty because their owners only live in them for two months a year, or because they're in bad condition and are more or less abandoned.

Back in 2005 people in some real estate markets like Arizona and Florida were buying houses and keeping them empty because prices were skyrocketing, they knew they could sell the house in a year for a big profit and the good times were going to last forever. Of course, once the bubble popped in 2006-2008 they all got caught by the recession and those empty houses got foreclosed on. The market conditions and easy financing that made that kind of speculation possible haven't been repeated yet.

Yes more chains in vt!

Are they just trying to force students out and shut the place down? There has been kids play equipment up at the apartments I think since the early 2000s.