Registration requirement
Amsterdam: Airbnb loses 80 percent of its accommodations
At Airbnb, a large part of the ads in Amsterdam are no longer available
© Chun Ju Wu / Picture Alliance
A new registration requirement is causing a break in the available Airbnb accommodations in Amsterdam. Of around 16,200 advertisements, only 2900 remain.
The popular online portal Airbnb offers users the option of renting out their rooms or entire properties to guests. Favorable prices and uncomplicated booking processing are typical features of the agency portal. In Amsterdam, however, it has now been decided that landlords are required to register, which has drastically reduced the number of advertisements.
The number of advertisements is falling dramatically
Before October 1st, it was easy for landlords to advertise their Amsterdam accommodations on Airbnb. But since the beginning of the month, a new registration requirement has come into force, according to which everyone who wants to rent their accommodation to tourists has to register in advance. As a result, the number of advertisements fell sharply. Of around 16,200 advertisements in spring, only around 2,900 remained for Amsterdam.
No ad without registration
Private room letting is a problem in many large cities. The Dutch capital had previously tried to contain it in order to counteract the housing shortage and curb mass tourism in the popular city. In order to make it easier for the authorities to identify illegal landlords, they will in future have to include a registration number in their ad at Airbnb. Anyone who did not include this number in their ad has already been removed.
Housing shortage big problem
The accusation that private platforms like Airbnb would exacerbate the housing shortage, especially in large cities, has existed for several years. Landlords who rent out their apartments to tourists on a long-term basis, instead of renting them out to residents of the city on a long-term basis, represent a central problem. What began with a common sharing idea has now become a lucrative business for many. Because the monthly rental income from tourists usually bring in more money than permanent tenancies. In addition, rental platforms such as Airbnb should have an influence on the rent index. Airbnb, on the other hand, argues that they would even relieve the housing market, as there would be less need for hotels, which would leave more space for apartments.
sources: mirrors, Southgerman newspaper