Is there a “decent” alternative to Airbnb? Amsterdam will investigate

The majority of Amsterdam city council members are in favor of studying the possibility of bringing to market an alternative to vacation rental platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb, which will respect the city’s rental rules. vacation.

Flaunting the Amsterdam Rules

According to figures from real estate consultant Colliers, in 2018, 41% of the homes offered on the Airbnb platform were rented for longer than the stipulated 60 days allowed per calendar year. In 19% of cases, they were even rented for more than 120 days!

Airbnb disputes the figures reported by Colliers, saying the company used a flawed calculation method. According to the vacation rental giant, only 3.2% of the homes on offer are rented for more than 60 days, not the 19% of Colliers reports. As of January 2019, the number of days you are allowed to rent your property has been reduced to 30.

Massive fines

Since 2017, those who rent their property to holidaymakers are required to inform the municipality. However, a measly 25 percent actually does. If you are caught renting your accommodation without notifying the municipality, you risk a fine of 6,000 euros. This fine could also go up to 20,500 euros if other conditions are also not met.

Many city councilors question whether the current approach to illegal vacation rentals is sufficient. VVD board member Daan Wijnants called for a “more effective approach to excess”. PvdA adviser Tom Leenders wants the city to make it easier for residents to report illegal rentals.

Bring new competition to the market

Housing alderman Laurens Ivens has invited vacation rental companies to chat on several occasions, but his invitation was ignored. The city therefore wants to look for a decent alternative to the current vacation rental sites.

At a committee meeting, Fairbnb, an Italian rental company that actively fights fraud, was brought up on several occasions. Leenders offered to facilitate or establish a healthy counterforce for Airbnb.