AirBnB Is The Least Of Your Problems

AirBnB Is The Least Of Your Problems

One of the most recurrent complains in western countries is how rents are skyrocketing. And raising they are. The question is, who is at fault? Who is pushing thousands to the brink of homelessness? AirBnB of course!

This narrative fits, and so it keeps reverberating. We adore our villains, and we love to simplify the complex. The clearer cut the enemy is, the bigger the resistance against them. That’s precisely what’s happening to AirBnB at a global scale. But I have issues with such an explanation. I don’t believe it. 

AirBnB is indeed a factor that increases rents, but it’s, if anything, one of the consequences of a much larger trend. Simplification is excellent for children, but not for adults. 

Source: The High Cost of Short-Term Rentals in New York City. Urban Politics and Governance research group School of Urban Planning McGill University. Jan. 2018

Megacities

By focusing on the AirBnB effect, we’re obviating a much more devastating trend, the