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Comment by aianus | Hacker News Reader

I don't think it's fair that renting an apartment for a year is so much cheaper than renting it for one night. AirBnB closes the gap to its natural equilibrium level instead of the artificially high one created by zoning laws and hotel taxes.

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Renting something for a longer term is usually cheaper because there is less overhead and risk. Renting a single day requires extra overhead in cleaning and advertising plus the risk of not having it rented. My guess would be nightly stays would need to be in the neighborhood of 150% of the monthly price to make it worthwhile, and possibly much higher if there is a low season.

Yes, of course, that's the natural spread that I was talking about. But that natural spread is not as large as the difference between a 12 month lease and a night in a hotel. That's what makes running an AirBnB profitable: undercutting the hotels and capturing some of that spread as income.

From the perspective of a landlord, if I have a good tenant, I'd rather rent for 2 years instead of 1 and will price lower accordingly. Vacancy rate is a key driver on ROI. Note that some commercial leases are as long as 10 years.

If the economy crashes and people stop vacationing, you won't be filling many nights in a hotel.

What do you think about places that give discounts if you sign a 12 month lease instead of six or one? That's not regulatory or artificial.

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