> "If you spend $50 a day on food in NYC with a sales tax of ~9% we are talking about $4.50 a day. And $50 a day is high, if we are talking about people that are so price sensitive that they won't come to NYC at all without AirBnB."
I agree with the general notion that the wider economic benefits of AirBnb are a bit suspect.
But the benefit to the city isn't just direct income via taxes. That $50 on food results in $4.50 in tax revenue, but also pays the cook, the waiter, the restaurant owner, the guy who owns the building it's in, and the supplier (who probably operates from NJ, but whatever).
Considering how slim restaurant margins are, it's pretty safe to say ~90% of that $50 goes straight back into the economy. The city after all isn't just there to collect tax money, it's also responsible for creating jobs.
If AirBnb was dramatically cheaper than NYC hotels it'd still be a benefit to incur even low levels of tourist spending from tourists who were otherwise unable to afford to travel here. That said, having looked at a lot of AirBnbs in NYC before, they are largely not much cheaper than hotels.
Only the extreme end of sketchy AirBnbs are notably cheaper, and that has negative externalities to the extreme.
I agree with the general notion that the wider economic benefits of AirBnb are a bit suspect.
But the benefit to the city isn't just direct income via taxes. That $50 on food results in $4.50 in tax revenue, but also pays the cook, the waiter, the restaurant owner, the guy who owns the building it's in, and the supplier (who probably operates from NJ, but whatever).
Considering how slim restaurant margins are, it's pretty safe to say ~90% of that $50 goes straight back into the economy. The city after all isn't just there to collect tax money, it's also responsible for creating jobs.
If AirBnb was dramatically cheaper than NYC hotels it'd still be a benefit to incur even low levels of tourist spending from tourists who were otherwise unable to afford to travel here. That said, having looked at a lot of AirBnbs in NYC before, they are largely not much cheaper than hotels.
Only the extreme end of sketchy AirBnbs are notably cheaper, and that has negative externalities to the extreme.