A weekend topic starting with the Wall Street Journal. "At Manhattan’s Atelier one afternoon last year, its five-star hospitality service was on full display. A one-night stay went for $400. The Atelier isn’t a luxury hotel. It is a Midtown condominium building where the board president and a small travel agency built a lucrative lodging business, according to people with knowledge of the rental arrangements."

"The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, known as OSE, said it is investigating a network of allegedly illegal short-term rentals at the Atelier, an agency spokeswoman said. She declined to provide further details. The network shut down after a police raid in October, according to former employees of the travel agency."

"After the raid, Massimo F. D’Angelo, a lawyer representing a group of Atelier condo owners, sent a letter to the condo board demanding it shut down what he called an 'illegal hotel enterprise.'"

"One unit owner who had turned her apartment over to the Atelier’s condo-board president, Daniel Neiditch to manage said he told her the fines 'would be taken care of.' One lawyer, Bradley Green, represented all the owners at hearings, according to city records. A total of $77,875 was paid. The source of the funds couldn’t be determined. Mr. Green declined to comment."

The Portland Mercury in Oregon. "Portland's finished waiting for short-term rental companies like Airbnb to follow the rules. Faced with a deficit of affordable housing and a negotiation standstill, Portland City Council is considering an ordinance that will require all Portlanders who rent out their homes through a short-term rental site obtain the mandatory permit to legally do so. Or else."

"'We've had years of discussion and litigation with short-term rental companies about increasing compliance [with the city's rules],' said Mayor Ted Wheeler during a Wednesday hearing on the pending ordinance. 'But few have shown any interest in aiding the enforcement of city regulations.'"

"This blatant non-compliance is largely because companies like Airbnb don't require their hosts to apply for a permit before listing a rental, nor do they share any data on their listings with the city—a step that could help city regulators track down non-complaint hosts. Airbnb has argued that the city's permitting process is too burdensome."

"That means, at any given moment, the city can’t vouch for 70 percent of the units marketed online,' said Commissioner Nick Fish. 'We can’t say for sure to anyone accessing these rentals that they’re safe.' Fish compared the city's inability to uphold these standards is akin to the Fire Bureau telling the public it'll no longer be inspecting public venues to make sure they meet fire safety standards."

"'We know beyond a doubt that short-term rental companies are contributing to a global housing crisis, including a housing crisis right here in Portland,' said Commissioner Chloe Eudaly on Wednesday. 'And the denial of these platforms—in particular Airbnb—would be laughable if it weren’t so offensive.'"

"'Looking back over my ten years serving on council, nothing has been more frustrating on the regulatory side than getting our short-term rentals to follow rules we’ve designed to protect consumers and workers,' Fish said. 'The gig economy has thumbed its nose at local regulators for a long time... and I think people need to understand that this has been a war waged by these gig companies alone.'"

The Los Angeles Times. "Homeowners around the world have found Airbnb and other short-term rental services a great way to make extra money. Until the guest from hell arrives. Emily Mastren, 30, and her husband have been using Airbnb to rent out their backyard bungalow in Long Beach since December. It goes for $65 to $99 a night, and the couple have hosted dozens of people over the last half-year. 'It pays our entire mortgage,' Mastren told me. 'That’s pretty nice. But now I’m worried about the safety of my family.'"

"The booking was made recently by a woman I’ll call Sylvia. That’s not her real name, but she has sent Mastren threatening messages and I don’t want to make a bad situation worse. Mastren has a 3-week-old daughter at home. Sylvia booked the bungalow on a Thursday morning and arrived that afternoon around 1 p.m."

"Sylvia checked out the next morning but failed to leave the keys in a lockbox, as is customary with Airbnb rentals. Mastren said she spotted Sylvia’s car parked on the street, where it appeared Sylvia was sleeping. Mastren approached the car, roused Sylvia and informed her that the keys hadn’t been returned. She said Sylvia rummaged in a bag, found the keys and handed them over. Suspicious, Mastren said, she played back video taken overnight by the security camera outside her home. She said four different people could be seen visiting the bungalow at roughly 90-minute intervals."

"I asked Mastren what she thought Sylvia was doing. 'I think she was prostituting out of my Airbnb,' Mastren replied. The cleaning lady arrived Friday afternoon. 'She texted me,' Mastren recalled. 'She said I better come see this.' Mastren said she found cigarette butts throughout the bungalow. In the bathroom wastebasket was a syringe. There also was a baggie. And an tea can that had been cut in half and used to heat something up. Mastren took pictures, which she submitted to Airbnb and shared with me. 'I was furious,' she said. 'I felt violated.'"

"Mastren reached out to Sylvia through Airbnb and requested the $250 smoking fee. She noted the syringe and possible drugs in the wastebasket. Sylvia replied with a message accusing Mastren of being 'ghetto' for going through the trash. She said she didn’t complain to anyone even though the tires on her car were slashed while she stayed at Mastren’s bungalow. She said she’d be back 'to get my things.'"

"Sylvia continued messaging Mastren via Airbnb for several days. She said she hadn’t been alone at the bungalow and any drugs weren’t hers. 'I’ll take drug test,' she said. 'I can prove to u and I will sue u for slander. My lawyer will contact u soon.' Subsequent messages said, 'Your n trouble lady' and 'Thanks 4 free money lady. Ur gonna pay !!$$$$.'"

"Airbnb didn’t have much to say about all this. I found no admonition in the standards about not breaking the law by, say, using someone’s home as a bordello. This seems like a glaring omission considering there are references online to Airbnb rentals being used as 'pop-up brothels' by prostitutes. You can also find reports of heroin use in Airbnb rentals."

From KSBW. "If you haven't booked your stay on the Monterey Peninsula for the 2019 U.S. Open there are still rooms and vacation rentals available and you might not have to pay as much as you think. Price gauging on the Central Coast is still at play in many hotels, and many AirBNB hosts are asking a lot for their homes, but the U.S. Open has not brought in the big bucks many may have been hoping for this year. 'It's not happening,' said Jan Leasure owner of Monterey Bay Property Managment."

"Leasure has been in the vacation rental business for decades and she said the legendary prices of the 2000 U.S. Open are still stuck in many people's minds. In 2019 if you've got a mansion on the course you can fetch $10,000 or more a night for your place but Leasure said anywhere off the course and the price goes way, way down."

"Leasure said 20 percent of the vacation rental stock is still open for booking. The biggest reason for declining demand is increasing supply. 'AirBNB has certainly changed the landscape because it has increased the supply, and so you know it is econ 101 when supply increases demand decreases,' said Leasure."

"Many municipalities and the county have banned or limited short term rentals but you can still find some illegal ones posted on sites including AirBNB and VRBO. The county has created a Short Term Rental Hotlin for people wishing to report their neighbors"