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Byron Bay - AirBnB capital of Australia?

I never usually make comments on social issues and people that know me well know that my beliefs mean that I am completely neutral regarding politics. This position does not preclude me from bringing some alarming statistics to the attention of my neighbours.

My next door neighbours are nice people, but they are AirBnB operators and while the majority of people they have had stay are nice people, it does get tiring helping people understand that sitting next door to my bedroom playing music and laughing till 1 in the morning gets a bit tiresome for people that work and have to get up in the morning. It's nice to hear people happy, but here are some statistics to show that it is not fair on full-time residents to have to deal with overnight visitors every few days.

Number of households in Byron Bay: 3300 reference 2011
Number of AirBnb units Byron Shire available: 1483! ref inside Airbnb

THIS MEANS THAT JUST UNDER HALF OF THE HOUSES IN BYRON BAY ARE BEING USED FOR AIRBNB.

THThe following is from the area near my house showing incredible high density of AirBnB locations. Also note the average price per night... $217.. the vast majority are whole houses.


It means that families who can pay $6-700 per week for rent are competing with Airbnb visitors who are paying $1500 per week. It means that people who live here have to travel half to a full hour to afford a cheap enough rent. Yet Byron is still a country town where the majority of folks are only getting 18-$25 per hour.

This doesn't feel like "the sharing economy" that AirBnb touts to me. It feels more like hotel businesses that are operating without proper supervision.

I won't initiate anything but if someone wants me to show how it's done, it's quite easy to monitor AirBnb to find out how many nights a place has been rented out and then charge tax for every night over say 20 nights in a year. Then also every one of these operators should pay a business operation fee and come under stricter guidelines.

My neighbours are nice people, but they aren't neighbours. They are businesspeople who happen to own the building next door. I don't know if I would have rented the house I'm in or not if I knew next door was an AirBnb place but it has not been free of issues. 

During peak season you have to gently help visitors realise that there are people living next door who are not on holidays... that the "no standing" sign out the front is there for a reason... that the airport bus tooting to get pickup people to come out front also makes us rush to the front of the house to see if it is someone trying to get our attention.... that hiring the house next door is not an excuse to have a wedding there...

Yes it is not nothing.

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