Lies of the “sharing economy” start to collapse
http://www.48hills.org/2016/01/18/lies-sharing-economy-start-collapse/
The “sharing-economy” companies like Lyft, Uber, and Airbnb have managed to avoid the regulations that govern taxis and hotels largely by insisting that they are in a different business, that they are purely technology firms that just connect individuals....
Hill notes that Lyft, in its much-discussed $500 million deal with General Motors to develop self-driving cars, is also launching a program to allow people who don’t own cars to rent from Lyft and then pick up passengers for money. That’s exactly what traditional cab companies do. And since Uber is likely to follow its competitors lead, soon the “sharing” companies will be doing exactly what the regulated companies are doing – without the regulations.
Airbnb insists it’s not a hotel company, so it shouldn’t be regulated or taxed like a hotel company. But the Wall Street Journal reported in December that the company was in talks with some of the largest residential landlords in the nation to see if they can work out a deal where big apartment complexes start to become …. hotels.
Equity Residential, Avalon Bay Communities, and Camden Property Trust, the three biggest owners of residential property with a combined 240,000 apartments in the US, are discussing “a revenue-sharing model” with Airbnb, the Journal reports. (You need a subscription to see the link).
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