On July 14, 2015 we went to San Francisco City Hall to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting and vote on the legislation discussing the revisions of the short term rent ordinances and the number of allowable days a short term renter can rent for. “The overall impact on San Francisco is negative, “ said Supervisor David Campos.
At first glance City Hall could have been mistaken for a golden palace but as you get closer it feels like a scary dungeon used to manipulate people. As you enter you receive this eery feeling as cold and thick as ice that you are being watched as you put your objects down and walk through the metal detector.
San Francisco is in a housing crisis. Thanks to ellis act evictions and people getting gentrified out their homes there are more people on the streets than under a roof. Evictions have risen to over 54.7% within these last few years and with these short term rental ordinances more people will have to probably find somewhere else to live.
In the middle of this crossfire is a company called Airbnb. Airbnb is an organization that allows people to rent unique places for guests to stay from local hosts in over 190 countries. The problem with this is that it gives less people less homes to live in.
We had the opportunity to talk to an elder who uses Airbnb and he says that they were fortunate to stay in San Francisco because of Airbnb. They have a single family home and rent one bedroom They are both retired and have a fixed income so they rely on Airbnb to help them pay their taxes and make ends meet.
“We are against people using Ellis Acts to push people out,” said the elder’s wife when she was asked about how she feels about the elders being pushed out their homes.
Some people fear that if Airbnb hosts rent full time it will reduce the city's housing supply and change some aspects of residential neighborhoods.”Neighborhoods became ground zero for evictions,” said Campos.
Clients also claim that Airbnb takes down all of the complaints they posted on blogs or other travelling sites so that they can save their company’s reputation.
In San Francisco, almost 5,000 San Francisco homes, apartments, and private or shared rooms were for rent via Airbnb. The Mission District had the most Airbnb rentals of any neighborhood. Prices are higher in “elegant” neighborhoods like Russian Hill and North Beach and lower in less upscale neighborhoods like the Sunset District and Parkside.
Airbnb is not a good thing and although it provides people with a source of income it also gives them more things to stress about when a guest causes damage to their living space and Airbnb won’t pay for the damages so the money comes out of their pockets.
In my opinion, Airbnb is a poor excuse for a company. They only care about the image of their company rather than the well being of their hosts or guests. They trick their clients and when they start complaining they’ll pretend like they care at first and then lose all contact with them.
But what matters the most is that innocent people are losing their homes and it is unacceptable.