> It doesn't seem reasonable that my friend with the big house should have to jump through all the same hoops as the professionals running the Marriott or whatever.
I agree. The regulations were written for a different market; new regulations are needed that provide a level playing field for competition, which means hotels aren't at a 14% price disadvantage and short-term rentals can cost-effectively comply.
It's going to take some innovation.
(I'm assuming the hotel regulations are too onerous for short-term rentals, but I don't know much about them.)
Maybe. All I see right now is the traditional scream of the incumbent big business freaking out that a clever new business model is threatening the service monopoly underlying their profit model. The safety concerns are maybes and could-bes.
I agree. The regulations were written for a different market; new regulations are needed that provide a level playing field for competition, which means hotels aren't at a 14% price disadvantage and short-term rentals can cost-effectively comply.
It's going to take some innovation.
(I'm assuming the hotel regulations are too onerous for short-term rentals, but I don't know much about them.)