Two shipping containers containing beds have been illegally listed and rented out via Airbnb in Amsterdam. The containers have since been removed.
If you were looking for a unique and pretty claustrophobic-inducing hotel stay in the capital, then there was a new ‘hotel’ in town. A container in the Pauwenpad and another in the Sparrndammerstraat provided guests with a ‘unique’ stay, but of course, it was all totally illegal, reports AT5. The municipality of Amsterdam removed the hotel after complaints from local residents – it was then found that no permit was issued for the containers.
So far they have been unable to find the ‘landlord’, but yet again there are more issues with Airbnb in the capital.
The ‘hotel’ was listed on Airbnb
A British tourist told AT5 that he found the property on Airbnb and paid 134 euros for it (ouch). Once he arrived, he was shocked to discover that it literally was just a shipping container with a bed in it. He refused to stay in it and complained to Airbnb who thankfully refunded his money after the landlord refused to. It’s certainly not the best start to a holiday is it…
We zijn wel wat gewend maar dit is een first. Zelfs containers worden aangeboden op #Airbnb.@LaurensIvens kijk je mee? Wanneer gaan we kappen met het faciliteren van #hobbyhoteliers en #graaiers? https://t.co/rCAIENJ1Ex pic.twitter.com/mcbnaomyNI
— Pretpark Amsterdam (@Pretpark020) May 11, 2019
It’s even worse once you know that one of the containers (Pauwenpad) is still on Airbnb and hasn’t been taken down yet, even though the container isn’t there any more and it’s illegal anyway.
The municipality has made a promise to do more to combat fraudsters, but as we have reported many times in the past, it’s going to be a constant uphill battle. Airbnb use has gone down since strict policies were enforced, but there is still a long way to go. With more and more tourists coming to Amsterdam (there have been many complaints about encouraging tourists to visit) and with fewer places for them to stay, it’s becoming more and more common to see situations such as this one right here.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!
*Cover pic not an actual picture of the hotel
