Airbnb vs the people
People are not happy with Airbnb right now
1.5 million visitors stay in Airbnbs in Barcelona annually. Five times as many are booking hotels and hostels. Half of the Airbnbs are entire houses or apartments. Many traditional apartments and buildings are being gutted out for the more profitable tourist sanctuary. Residents see it as a pestilence. In the Gothic Quarter, the resident population has gone down 45% in the past decade.
Owners and agencies have turned single stay 2-3 bedroom apartments into 2-3 different rentable quarters, sharing the rest of the house with the other Airbnb guests that night.
And now, many housing activists are mad. So mad they are roaming the streets slashing tires, lighting cars on fire, and assaulting tourists. Signs reign the streets saying, “terrorist, not tourist” and “stop destroying our lives!” If the tourists are wearing flip flops, I’d be on their side. One guy goes to work in a suit, sweating his ass off and walks past this giant dork, his feet flip flopping on the ground like slap paddles you kick in Karate class— except all the time. It really seems like a scene from Falling Down, right before the main guy pulls out a rocket launcher. Maybe that’s what is happening, but on a social level.
This is an interesting case, not just for the drama, but for reprecussion of the internet upon human lives. This might have been expected by some, but for most people, we didn’t see it coming. We didn’t really think about it. Airbnb is something we might use 2-3 times a year. But for the people who live in that area, it means one house whose neighbor is a fluid entity. There is no neighbor, only a series of individuals transacting cash for a place to sleep. There is no Mayberry for these Barcelonians.
Even some store owners have placed signs saying “not a tourist attaction” in their picturesque window fronts.
We saw something similar back in 2015 when taxi drivers protest Uber and other rideshare apps. In France there were riots, cars overturned, and freeways halted under vexxed demonstrators. In fact the biggest anti Uber protest took place 6 months ago in Madrid where hundreds of taxi cars blocked the streets. In September of 2018, Spain decided to give ridesharing programs only 1 license per 30 taxis.
Anti Uber protests continued and the demand for more regulation forced Spain to say ride-hailing services could not be booked but a few minutes ahead of the ride and could not be hailed in the street.
This has great implications for our culture. We’re seeing a clash between the new and the old world. The better business is the one that does not require government intervention. Ride-share apps are effective and cheaper than traditional taxis. They’re probably jealous Uber is better. Really, have you ridden a taxi? More expensive. And the cars are all those retired crown vics the cops used to drive around in the 90’s. Imagine all those indecent exposure arrests and bleeding heroin addicts.
With the increase of apps and their users, we might just see the end of taxi services entirely. What of housing though? Will we ever live solely off Airbnb? Will it tear the fabric of our culture? Likely no, except for those in highly sought after tourist areas. This is already happening, as we have stated with the anti Airbnb activists. Rent goes up too, in highly trafficked areas. The problem is affordability for locals, where a way of life deteriorates as locals leave to seek refuge in more affordable housing.
By
Ted M. Iverson