

AIRBNB / SHORT-TERM RENTAL OPERATORS CONTINUE TO FUNCTION ‘TRUE TO FORM’
Airbnb and subsidiary HotelTonight are reported to have cancelled all bookings in the Washington DC metro area during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. “The decision comes as the company has been made aware of emerging reports that armed militias and hate groups are attempting to travel to disrupt the inauguration.” Under its Terms of Service, Airbnb has “no obligation” to undertake checks designed to help very “identity or background”, “obtain reports from public re


AIRBNB – EVERY NEIGHBOUR & POLICE OFFICERS’ WORST NIGHTMARE
Victoria Police report: “Four women charged following a serious assault of sergeant and constable in Glen Iris.” The female sergeant and male constable were responding to a ‘noise complaint’ from a party being held at a short-term rental in Malvern Road on Sunday 10 January. The female sergeant sustained concussion as a result. “While she was on the ground, she was kicked in the body, the face; this is a serious assault.” If found guilty, the offenders could each face a m


NSW AIRBNB OPERATOR WITH 164 LISTINGS “RUNNING AT 90% OCCUPANCY”
Yes we have a pandemic, yet irrespective of this, “rental vacancy rates hit zero in Australian coastal towns as they hit COVID capacity”,according to the ABC, and “it has created a nightmare for some renters… The situation is, of course, great for landlords who can rent out their homes easily and sell houses at high prices. But it has also created a situation where some renters are giving up hope.” And while our NSW North Coast has been negatively affected by Brisbane’s COV


WHICH MINISTER / DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE COVID COMPLIANCE?
An unidentified member of ASTRA – Australian Short Term Rental Association - wrote to members in a Facebook post a propos commercial operations in residential buildings/zones: “The industry antagonists will do everything they can to encourage neighbours to make complaints to Fair Trading…the code (of Conduct) protects you too!” As ASTRA themselves had earlier reported: “ASTRA board members and advisors…have been intimately involved with the creation of the NSW Code of Cond