In an all-out assault on our accommodation freedom, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador is appealing to government to make many voluntary lodging arrangements illegal. Authoritarian Rex Avery, the head of HNL, believes he is more of an adult than everyone else and that he needs to treat everyone as children. He doesn’t believe free people should be allowed to make voluntary choices as to where they stay on vacation, but rather he and his government goons should force people to stay where they decide. “Avery says the Newfoundland and Labrador government should follow Quebec's footsteps by making moves to fine anyone who attempts to rent out their homes as hotels.” But we live in a free country right?
Because Mr. Avery cannot actually compete and loathes the idea of a free market where he is forced to offer a compelling sales proposition, he instead relies on the force and coercion of the government to do his bidding. It’s just an old ploy that uncompetitive businesses and industries are fond of using. It goes like this:
1. Establish a business, make some money
2. Competition enters which is more competitive, offering either higher quality or lower prices or both
3. Run to the government to demand protectionism to make competition illegal and refuse to innovate
4. Claim you are just a really caring person who cares about the “health and safety” of people and you are really just a consumer advocate! Balk at any suggestion that you are pursuing selfish interests.
This is just a textbook example of businesses seeking special protections against competition. The only people better off for this arrangement is the businesses receiving this protection, never the consumer. Usually it’s the big guy trying to trample the little guy which is why governments often side with the big bully. The bully can provide campaign contributions and they are an organized and unified voting block – something very attractive to politicians.
The canard that is nearly always used is that the competition is “unsafe” or “dangerous” in some way. At least Rex Avery was somewhat honest by admitting that he is concerned about “his” industry and his revenue potential.
Let’s translate some of the stuff Mr. Avery is saying:
| What Mr. Avery he says: | Analysis |
| “Airbnb is a business where it's unlicensed, they don't collect taxes, they don't pay taxes, they don't support the economy.” | I really have no idea what this even means. So unless a business is “licensed” or “pay taxes”, it doesn’t support the economy?? What is the economy in Mr. Avery’s opinion – tax collection? But Airbnb does in fact pay taxes. And what does being licensed have to do with supporting the economy? Absolutely nothing. This sentence is completely nonsensical. The “economy” is all financial interactions of people in a given area. It’s not paying taxes and being licensed. |
| “You may pay more but you're protected, your experience is what you'd expect and there's no hidden surprises.” | No surprises? Has Mr. Avery ever even been in a hotel? Hotels are full of surprises! Dirty bed sheets, dirty towels, bugs, poor service, overbooked rooms. What kind of dream world does Rex Avery live in to believe there are never any hidden surprises with hotels. Again, just a form of verbal advertising for the hotel industry that has no reflection on reality. Another interesting question is how many people have had negative experiences with airbnb. They have had thousands of tenants and exchanges, yet when something bad happens like the incident recently in Calgary, the media goes berserk. Plus, even in that incident no one was actually physically hurt. |
| Avery said it also creates an unfair situation in which legitimate hoteliers and bed and breakfast owners, who pay taxes and help stimulate the economy, are up against tough competition. | “Legitimate” in this sense means cartelized. Paying taxes does not stimulate the economy. At most, it stimulates the government. Often it destroys the economy. |
| "A lot of these [hosts] that are renting these places don't understand the liability and risk they take by trying to make a quick dollar," Avery said. | They don’t understand the risk, so it should be illegal? You mean it’s impossible for someone to start a hotel without knowing the risk? That’s like saying “Some drivers don’t know the risk with driving, let’s make driving illegal!” The “risk” is simply a matter of insurance. If someone doesn’t have sufficient insurance, then too bad, so sad, they lose their property if something happens. I don’t see why this would automatically make the industry illegal. |
| “by trying to make a quick dollar” | This statement is extremely patronizing and it’s really a pet peeve of mine. They act as though no one should be allowed to make any money except them and that if someone other than them tries to they are somehow sleazy lowlifes. “making a quick dollar” is also referred to as making a living. How dare Mr. Avery act as though there is something wrong with this! |
Also, notice how CBC is acting like this incident in Calgary is the end of the world. It’s not just a one-off event, it’s the scary, demonized, terrifying “unregulated” market again! Take your children inside quick! An overpaid under-motivated government worker didn’t waltz in one day to have a quick glance around the place and another one didn’t charge a huge tax amount. So I mean obviously these places must be unimaginably horrible, practical torture chambers filled with the most disgusting and dangerous surroundings! Give me a break!
Frederick Bastiat, the famous French economist from a couple of hundred years ago once wrote a satirical essay about a fictional new law in France forcing people to never open their window shutters, especially during the day, requiring people to stay indoors during daylight hours, and other absurd measures because candle-makers couldn’t compete with the sunlight. Mr. Rex Avery and his ilk are no less absurd in what they are demanding.
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