Some in our city have convinced our council to examine sites such as Airbnb as to how they fit into our tourism industry. Their gripe appears to be that it is "unfair" (as reported) for a residential home owner to be able to make a commercial gain from his property.
Could I remind this group that every rental landlord in town makes a commercial gain from the residential property that he owns. What is the difference between this and Airbnb in regard to commercial gain?
And, as to added pressure upon our city's infrastructure, if a house has four people living in it, and these four are replaced by four who are on holiday, where is the added pressure coming from?
I hope the tourism industry is keeping an eye on this issue. Those who are complaining are endeavouring to restrict the number of beds that will be available to accommodate our visitors. Not enough beds means fewer visitors, means downturn. Do we want that?
[Abridged]
John Pakes
Ngongotaha
Troubled waters
I am a plumber in Rotorua. Last week I attended two jobs where the houses were flooded by burst pipes. On both occasions the householders turned off their water toby and both times to no avail as the valves were old and didn't shut down the water supply. I've found a large percentage of tobys in Rotorua don't work properly, leaving residents unable to isolate the water supply in an emergency.
Some years ago the council were replacing a lot of these old valves, but then they seemed to just stop, leaving much of the town's houses with the old ones they've had for decades. I know money is tight but I would have thought maintaining the water supply to a reasonable standard would be more of a priority.
[Abridged]
Alan Forrest
Rotorua
