In uncertain economic times, people may need to bring in additional money, and renting out a room in one's home can be a way to do that. But there seems to be a key difference between the big business version of home sharing that we're now seeing in neighborhoods everywhere -- HOAs included -- and home sharing years ago. Was old-style home sharing more family-focused?
Years ago, there were boardinghouses. And while, modern-day home sharing is often compared to boardinghouses, when you look at history, you see a difference...in this excerpt from an article about boardinghouse history in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, for example: "For many landlords and boarders, the household intimacy of boarding was part of its appeal. Boarders not only took their meals within the household, but often participated in family activities. Boardinghouse residents met daily in the shared spaces of the dining room and the parlor. Late-nineteenth-century reformers approved of the family environment of boardinghouses..."
Compared to old-style boardinghouses, isn't home sharing today a fast-paced, big business? Reading history, you get the feeling that people probably stayed longer at boardinghouses than just overnight or for a couple of days at a time. Because, back then, boarders were seen as part of the family, not as strangers coming and going. You get the feeling that boardinghouses of yesteryear maybe didn't alter residential neighborhoods. Can the same be said about today's version of what's being described as home sharing?
Why is this important to know? Because big home sharing companies are supporting a lot of political advertising aimed at influencing public thinking about proposed home sharing laws and regulations. In San Francisco, for example, there's saturation TV advertising advocating a 'no' vote on a San Francisco ballot measure, Prop. F.
San Francisco voters may not see nearly as much advertising in favor of Prop. F, because supporters of this ballot measure may lack the funding to battle multi-billion-dollar home sharing companies. The vote on similar measures elsewhere throughout the country may be similarly influenced by big business.
Maybe folks living next door to short-term rental homes are concerned about modern-day home sharing, but how will their voices be heard?
Years ago, there were boardinghouses. And while, modern-day home sharing is often compared to boardinghouses, when you look at history, you see a difference...in this excerpt from an article about boardinghouse history in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, for example: "For many landlords and boarders, the household intimacy of boarding was part of its appeal. Boarders not only took their meals within the household, but often participated in family activities. Boardinghouse residents met daily in the shared spaces of the dining room and the parlor. Late-nineteenth-century reformers approved of the family environment of boardinghouses..."
Compared to old-style boardinghouses, isn't home sharing today a fast-paced, big business? Reading history, you get the feeling that people probably stayed longer at boardinghouses than just overnight or for a couple of days at a time. Because, back then, boarders were seen as part of the family, not as strangers coming and going. You get the feeling that boardinghouses of yesteryear maybe didn't alter residential neighborhoods. Can the same be said about today's version of what's being described as home sharing?
Why is this important to know? Because big home sharing companies are supporting a lot of political advertising aimed at influencing public thinking about proposed home sharing laws and regulations. In San Francisco, for example, there's saturation TV advertising advocating a 'no' vote on a San Francisco ballot measure, Prop. F.
San Francisco voters may not see nearly as much advertising in favor of Prop. F, because supporters of this ballot measure may lack the funding to battle multi-billion-dollar home sharing companies. The vote on similar measures elsewhere throughout the country may be similarly influenced by big business.
Maybe folks living next door to short-term rental homes are concerned about modern-day home sharing, but how will their voices be heard?
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