Short term rental websites been blamed for pushing up housing prices because they remove rooms from the rental market. Chicago Tribune
I suppose anything is possible in the USA. Sometime ago I read that USA hotels are worried about the impact self catering accommodation has on their profitability (but I could not find it).
Chicago Tribune article continues:
Sites like Airbnb, which help landlords list rooms and take a cut of the payments, have operated in a legal gray area in many U.S. markets – and sometimes outright illegally in cities including San Francisco, which outlaws rentals for less than 30 days.
The services have been under scrutiny elsewhere in the United States, including in New York state, where Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has issued a subpoena for a list of Airbnb hosts in New York City, which also prohibits short-term apartment rentals. The company has refused to divulge its hosts and is now battling the subpoena in court.
In Cape Town accommodation owners have a choice between short-term and long-term. With Cape Town as popular as it is long-term rental rates must be under pressure as the rand devaluate. This brings in foreign holiday-makers who are willing to pay more to stay in your home. To pay R35000 per night is nothing. Some will pay R100 000 per day.
Cape Town is obviously a place to invest in residential property for short-term rentals. I also believe that the Cape Town demand for tourism accommodation is on such a growth phase that hotels and short-term rental owners can happily live side by side.
The problem in the USA market is complicated but today I feel like generalising; If there’s pressure on the market – due to poor destination marketing or excessive hotel rates then hotels (in the USA) may be under pressure. And they could use political arguments to say that people are not getting long-term rentals because owner prefer for short term rentals. “Stop this abuse of the poor rentees and make a law to stop them.”
I know we sit here at the foot of Africa but we have a lot going for us. Each one of us needs to continue marketing Cape Town as a destination. Don’t be greedy, give more than expected. Don’t surprise your guests with stupid things like fire wood that’s not include or charge for cleaning that was never presented to the guest. And keep your knifes sharp. A blunt knife equals a blunt owner.
Have fun
Johan from the CapeHolidays.Info Team