The Base

[SirL]

29 minutes ago, GlobalTraveler said:

well today was one of those days I told myself I have to get out of here. 20-40 Chinese plugging up the elevators every time I come or go. 3 elevators are enough for permanent residents but not enough for hotel .

Isn't the number of people in residence in a condo block fully occupied by permanent residents, the same as a block full of Chinese short-termers, and their rate of using the elevators the same?  How does it differ?  I think you're comparing to The Base being under-occupied by anyone a couple of years ago.

 

32 minutes ago, GlobalTraveler said:

My guess is very soon no permanent residents will be left in The Base .

If no permanent residents left in The Base, there goes the pressure to exclude short-termers?  All the landlords would vote to relax the issue.

[taylor1975]

2 hours ago, SirL said:

Isn't the number of people in residence in a condo block fully occupied by permanent residents, the same as a block full of Chinese short-termers, and their rate of using the elevators the same?  How does it differ?  I think you're comparing to The Base being under-occupied by anyone a couple of years ago.

Probably their need to move around in big groups. If their movements were spread out, it would reduce the problem i guess.

[SirL]

6 minutes ago, taylor1975 said:

Probably their need to move around in big groups. If their movements were spread out, it would reduce the problem i guess.

Yes, fair point, but that suggests there should be quiet periods alternating with the groups turning up and taking over the elevators.

I suppose it's not impossible that, on holiday, a couple might live in a small Base room for a couple of weeks, but for permanent living that size of room is more suitable for one person(??)  That would cause more holidaymakers to be in the building than if it were occupied by permanent residents.

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

15 hours ago, taylor1975 said:

Probably their need to move around in big groups. If their movements were spread out, it would reduce the problem i guess.

Somebody was paying attention during their statistics lesson on probability theory 

[dirkdeee]

On 8/8/2018 at 07:39, SirL said:

Isn't the number of people in residence in a condo block fully occupied by permanent residents, the same as a block full of Chinese short-termers, and their rate of using the elevators the same?  How does it differ?  I think you're comparing to The Base being under-occupied by anyone a couple of years ago.

I believe the problem isn't one of ethnicity but rather one of how the condo is being largely used as a hotel.  What SirL says could be true except elevator usage becomes worse as they are toting luggage in and out of the elevators.  What does piss me off about elevators is waiting a long time for the elevator only to stop and have someone get in and go down one floor.  This could be done by anyone though. 

I stayed at The Base during this high season and while the Chinese were the largest visible group, I would much rather them than hordes of party goers.  In 5 weeks at The Base, I never witnessed any loud drunken behavior from the Chinese.(I'm sure it happens but % has to be pretty small)  Once in my condo, I had zero adjacent noise and was high enough to limit outside noise.(I understand there is now on site construction noise?)  The sometimes longer elevator wait for me did not detract from what is an awesome location.    

[hioctane]

If no permanent residents left in The Base, there goes the pressure to exclude short-termers?  All the landlords would vote to relax the issue.

I don't think you can vote on this issue. It is illegal. It seems like most of the Base was bought for investment purposes... and so they have an unspoken code. I wonder if any permanent resident have ever reported it. I suspect that rather than be a rat.. they just move out.

[deckard]

On 8/8/2018 at 20:07, joeaf said:

 

Japan (the country, not individual cities) has recently cracked down on all ST rentals by requiring ST rentals be registered w/license.  Airbnb in Japan is severely affected and landlords are not reappearing elsewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZlNp76QpP4

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/06/06/business/airbnb-drops-nearly-80-percent-private-home-listings-ahead-new-peer-peer-rental-law/#.W2rN0Lgnbcs

 

Here is an email excerpt I received from Airbnb in July concerning my 5 night stay in Japan for Oct.

...We’re writing with an important update about your upcoming stay in Japan.

The Japanese government recently passed a law that regulates home sharing. In order to comply, all hosts are required to register their listing and display an approved license number by June 15th.

On June 1st, the Japanese government unexpectedly instructed us that any host without a valid license number should cancel all upcoming reservations….  

Well, it's a good and bad example at the same time. Japan is trying to regulate airbnb out of the market, which is why this a good example. It's a bad example because if you know Japanese people you know that in general they don't skirt the law. They toe the line and they generally are very bad at finding loop holes or alternate paths. There are some exceptions, but mostly they are very law abiding and fear running afoul of the law.

[nosunje]

I will stay at the base condo for one month from mid November. I heard that the Edge Condo is ready for construction next to it. Is not it noisy now?

[Fire Bar Matt]

56 minutes ago, nosunje said:

I will stay at The Base condo for one month from mid November. I heard that the Edge Condo is ready for construction next to it. Is not it noisy now?

I stayed at a hotel overlooking the new development site. There’s no noise currently coming from the Edge Condo site and there was very little movement on the site last 2 weeks. 

[hioctane]

Well, it's a good and bad example at the same time. Japan is trying to regulate airbnb out of the market, which is why this a good example. It's a bad example because if you know Japanese people you know that in general they don't skirt the law. They toe the line and they generally are very bad at finding loop holes or alternate paths. There are some exceptions, but mostly they are very law abiding and fear running afoul of the law.

There is no need to skirt they law. They will just get a license and pass the costs to the consumer!

In the US, some if not all states already charge an extra tax that we the renters pay. Over regulation is not necessarily good for the consumer.


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[deckard]

19 hours ago, hioctane said:

 

There is no need to skirt they law. They will just get a license and pass the costs to the consumer!

In the US, some if not all states already charge an extra tax that we the renters pay. Over regulation is not necessarily good for the consumer.


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I agree, but it's not that simple in Japan. The regulations will allow a listing to be rented something like 120 days per year. Some places have proposed not allowing rentals on weekdays.

[joeaf]

Thank you RFTH/The Base for coming through after my Airbnb superhost cancelled on me 17 days before I arrive in Pattaya.  I had booked my Airbnb Pattaya condo 9+ months ago for 50 nights and Airbnb only offered +10% additional credit if I found another Airbnb accommodation.  Not much listings left on Airbnb at this time for my dates.  In 2017, I stayed with this Airbnb superhost so I thought he would not cancel.  But I was wrong and no penalty on the host because he unlisted his unit from Airbnb due to poor Airbnb support and he listed with a local real estate company.  I had stayed at The Base before and luckily, RFTH/The Base had availability on their website and I just received my RFTH/The Base booking confirmation.

This was my second Airbnb cancellation that I encountered in 2018.  The first cancellation was in Hiroshima, Japan due to new government regulations and the host could not get a license.  I frequently rechecked the Hiroshima, Japan but it appears true that 80% of the Airbnb listing disappeared and did not come back, so not that easy to get a license in Japan and I had to book with a hotel.

These two Airbnb host cancellations showed me the bad side of Airbnb.

[taylor1975]

6 minutes ago, joeaf said:

Thank you RFTH/The Base for coming through after my Airbnb superhost cancelled on me 17 days before I arrive in Pattaya.  I had booked my Airbnb Pattaya condo 9+ months ago for 50 nights and Airbnb only offered +10% additional credit if I found another Airbnb accommodation.  Not much listings left on Airbnb at this time for my dates.  In 2017, I stayed with this Airbnb superhost so I thought he would not cancel.  But I was wrong and no penalty on the host because he unlisted his unit from Airbnb due to poor Airbnb support and he listed with a local real estate company.  I had stayed at The Base before and luckily, RFTH/The Base had availability on their website and I just received my RFTH/The Base booking confirmation.

This was my second Airbnb cancellation that I encountered in 2018.  The first cancellation was in Hiroshima, Japan due to new government regulations and the host could not get a license.  I frequently rechecked the Hiroshima, Japan but it appears true that 80% of the Airbnb listing disappeared and did not come back, so not that easy to get a license in Japan and I had to book with a hotel.

These two Airbnb host cancellations showed me the bad side of Airbnb.

Good post. It is a real flaw with airbnb. I've used it about 6 times, but all with the same condo owner, luckily no issues.

But, like you, i booked with RFTH and paid 50% deposit, which i like, as it feels like a commitment has been made on their side. 

(Also, electric is at 7 baht per unit with them - i checked)

[Scuba+]

Thank you RFTH/The Base for coming through after my Airbnb superhost cancelled on me 17 days before I arrive in Pattaya.  I had booked my Airbnb Pattaya condo 9+ months ago for 50 nights and Airbnb only offered +10% additional credit if I found another Airbnb accommodation.  Not much listings left on Airbnb at this time for my dates.  In 2017, I stayed with this Airbnb superhost so I thought he would not cancel.  But I was wrong and no penalty on the host because he unlisted his unit from Airbnb due to poor Airbnb support and he listed with a local real estate company.  I had stayed at The Base before and luckily, RFTH/The Base had availability on their website and I just received my RFTH/The Base booking confirmation.
This was my second Airbnb cancellation that I encountered in 2018.  The first cancellation was in Hiroshima, Japan due to new government regulations and the host could not get a license.  I frequently rechecked the Hiroshima, Japan but it appears true that 80% of the Airbnb listing disappeared and did not come back, so not that easy to get a license in Japan and I had to book with a hotel.
These two Airbnb host cancellations showed me the bad side of Airbnb.

One of the benefits of booking a hotel, they won't cancel you, but an AirBnB booking of 50 nights will easily get cancelled if the owner gets a better offer for longer

[SirL]

Yes, the fact that cancellations on AirBnB are not symmetrical (host can cancel with no cost if he's eg switching from AirBnB to medium term rentals, but you would be hit with a cost for cancellation) is one of the worst aspects of AirBnB.

[joeaf]

1 hour ago, Scuba+ said:

One of the benefits of booking a hotel, they won't cancel you, but an AirBnB booking of 50 nights will easily get cancelled if the owner gets a better offer for longer

Not quite true.  I had booked Days Inn & Suites Jamaica JFK Airport for 1 night on my outbound flight.  When checking 30 days before, I found Days Inn had cancelled my reservation without notifying me.  I called the hotel and they said they were closing in Oct for renovations which I found strange because they are a new hotel which opened up in 2016.  Fortunately, it was early enough to book another hotel, but I complained to Wyndham and they gave me points for a free night.

Also, I saw my Airbnb host listing on the local real estate site, but I thought he was listing for after my Airbnb stay.  His unit was rented for 18k baht/month on the local real estate site for 6 months, and I was paying 56k baht for 50 nights.  This host said he cancelled due to poor support from Airbnb.

[hioctane]

Yes, the fact that cancellations on AirBnB are not symmetrical (host can cancel with no cost if he's eg switching from AirBnB to medium term rentals, but you would be hit with a cost for cancellation) is one of the worst aspects of AirBnB.

Not quite true.. There are penalties and exceptions for a host cancelling just like there are penalties and exceptions for a guest cancelling. Switching to a medium term rental is not a penalty free exception. I have used Airbnb dozens of times without a cancellation. Why would a host or a guest do a cancellation and risk use of their account? There are hosts and guests with lots of reviews and they have certainly not abused the cancellation policies.



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[SirL]

18 minutes ago, hioctane said:

Not quite true.. There are penalties and exceptions for a host cancelling just like there are penalties and exceptions for a guest cancelling. Switching to a medium term rental is not a penalty free exception. 

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reservation?ibbe=1

Could you explain which of these "penalties" would cause any loss or problem to a host who is switching to medium term rentals?  That host won't have a next payout, he won't care about reviews, blocked calendars or Superhost status.  Meanwhile perhaps I, who carefully chose and booked that condo months beforehand, could be left high and dry days before my trip.  I would have paid cash if I had wanted to cancel that booking.

[hioctane]

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reservation?ibbe=1
Could you explain which of these "penalties" would cause any loss or problem to a host who is switching to medium term rentals?  That host won't have a next payout, he won't care about reviews, blocked calendars or Superhost status.  Meanwhile perhaps I, who carefully chose and booked that condo months beforehand, could be left high and dry days before my trip.  I would have paid cash if I had wanted to cancel that booking.

No rules will stop a scummy business. If they don’t plan to ever use AirBnB again, sure they can do that. That is super rare though. That is where reading host reviews comes agian. Again, that still won’t stop someone with a perfect record from doing it, but the odds are extremely low. You know the saying.. there are no guarantees in life but death and taxes!



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[SirL]

32 minutes ago, hioctane said:

No rules will stop a scummy business. If they don’t plan to ever use AirBnB again, sure they can do that. That is super rare though. That is where reading host reviews comes agian. Again, that still won’t stop someone with a perfect record from doing it, but the odds are extremely low. You know the saying.. there are no guarantees in life but death and taxes!

 

So you're agreeing that there are no penalties against a host switching to medium term rentals and cancelling existing bookings, but you're saying that's rare.  

Quite a few of the AirBnB's I've looked at in detail can be found on medium term rental websites. 

[hioctane]

So you're agreeing that there are no penalties against a host switching to medium term rentals and cancelling existing bookings, but you're saying that's rare.  
Quite a few of the AirBnB's I've looked at in detail can be found on medium term rental websites. 

Penalties are irrelevant if you don’t care what happens to you. They may think AirBnB is not right for them and they are free to use another platform but they are not switching back and forth.


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[SirL]

12 minutes ago, hioctane said:

Penalties are irrelevant if you don’t care what happens to you. They may think AirBnB is not right for them and they are free to use another platform but they are not switching back and forth.

 

No, hosts aren't switching back and forth, that's not practical.  It seems to be more of a one-off switch from AirBnB to medium term renting.  AirBnB doesn't seem to be delivering enough bookings for owners.

My worry is simply that since there are no effective penalties on an owner if they were to one-off switch from AirBnB to medium term, existing bookings could be cancelled leaving would-be AirBnB renters high and dry.

[striderman]

On 9/25/2018 at 19:49, nosunje said:

I will stay at The Base condo for one month from mid November. I heard that the Edge Condo is ready for construction next to it. Is not it noisy now?

the site is locked shut with nothing happening. been that way since it was cleared around about the end of may. nothing to worry about. i last passed by the place yesterday

[hioctane]

No, hosts aren't switching back and forth, that's not practical.  It seems to be more of a one-off switch from AirBnB to medium term renting.  AirBnB doesn't seem to be delivering enough bookings for owners.
My worry is simply that since there are no effective penalties on an owner if they were to one-off switch from AirBnB to medium term, existing bookings could be cancelled leaving would-be AirBnB renters high and dry.

The problem isn’t necessarily AirBnB. The Pattaya rental market is over satuarated. If hosts charge market rates they will get a lot more bookings. Do you believe some Base condos are asking for over $1000 USD a month on AirBnB? Most likely some investors. If a host has a lot of reviews, most likely they are in it for the long term. If a host is new, yes there is a risk. However, this is Pattaya.. there is no shortage of rentals even in high season!


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[SirL]

2 minutes ago, hioctane said:

The problem isn’t necessarily AirBnB. The Pattaya rental market is over satuarated. ...... However, this is Pattaya.. there is no shortage of rentals even in high season!

 

Yes, I'm not sure it's a clever decision by hosts to leave AirBnB in a way they wouldn't be able to return, but nevertheless some hosts might do that.  I'm not sure medium term renting delivers better occupancy.