AirBNB
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“AirBnB” Law Confirmed In Alþingi
New legislation concerning short-term leasing allows residents to rent out their private dwelling, while simultaneously limiting the subletting of other properties in urban areas. The law was introduced by Minister of Industries Hanna Katrín Friðriksson and passed in Alþingi on Thursday, March…
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Short-Term Rentals To Be Limited To Legal Residence
On March 13, the government published a drafted bill to limit short-term rentals exclusively to individuals’ legal residences. With the bill, the government aims to better ensure equilibrium in the housing market and that apartments will be used as people’s homes, as…
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Too Little, Too Late: Iceland’s Shambolic Housing Market
In the afternoon of June 25, 2020, a house on Bræðraborgarstígur in Reykjavík’s Miðbær neighbourhood was set ablaze. Smoke engulfed the western part of town and a majority of the downtown area, pooling over the city pond where warm air met cool…
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New Legislation Bans Hospitality Business In Residential Housing
New legislation bans owners of hospitality businesses from renting out long-term accommodation defined as residential housing. The Icelandic government announced the law on their website, May 3. Real estate owners can still lease out their homes for a maximum of 90 days…
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Suspicions Of Severe Tax Violations Related To Airbnb
Airbnb provides a platform for people to rent out to tourists various accommodations, such as apartments, cottages, and more. Data from the site was obtained by the Director of Tax Investigations and has led to suspicions of large-scale tax violations by Icelanders.…
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Statistics Show More Signs Of The Tourism Slowdown
Warning: Math heavy article coming up. Prepare yourself for some hard numbers. This June, tourists spent a total of 1,188,600 nights in hotels, hostels and apartments in Iceland, half a percent less than last years 1,195,000 nights, according to a story by…
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Airbnb In Iceland: Growing Fast, Driving Up Costs, Mostly Not Registered Legally
Airbnb rentals have doubled in the past two years, pushed up property prices, and the majority of long-term listings are not legally registered as such. This information was brought to light in a new report from the Housing Financial Fund (HFF). Ólafur…
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Iceland’s Parliament To Begin Cracking Down On Airbnb
The Icelandic government has allocated 64 million ISK towards enforcing existing laws for home accommodations, such as Airbnb. Iceland’s Minister of Tourism, Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, told reporters that while they would prefer to keep regulation at a minimum, “not enough people…
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Prostitution In Iceland Mostly Occurring In AirBnB Apartments
According to the Chief of the Police Human Trafficking Team Snorri Birgisson, prostitution in Iceland has recently found a safe haven in downtown AirBnB apartments, RÚV reports. During an open meeting between the Reykjavik City Council and the Violence Prevention Committee, Snorri…
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The Voices Unheard: Locals Living In Vans at Reykjavík Campsite Speak Up
It was a normal Friday night in Reykjavík in December. The temperature had dropped to -8°C. While most people slept through the night in their rooms, warmed up by heaters, others woke up shivering. Due to difficulties with finding housing, some locals…
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Reykjavík’s Housing Problem Leaving Locals Out In The Cold
Some Icelanders in Reykjavík are sleeping in tents and cars for lack of affordable housing, while most long-term Airbnb listings in Reykjavík are operating illegally. Dagur B. Eggertsson, the mayor of Reykjavík, issued a statement on Facebook wherein he says it is…
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Iceland’s Capital Losing Millions From Illegal Airbnb Listings
More than half of long-term Airbnb listings are not officially registered as such, resulting in a loss of about a billion ISK each year. According to data from the Housing Financing Fund (HFF), the majority of Airbnb listings posting for longer than…
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Highest Earning Icelandic Airbnber Made 236 Million ISK
According to figures from the newly launched tourism fact database Mælaborði ferðaþjónustunnar, the individual who made the most from renting out apartments through Airbnb profited 236 million ISK over the past 12 months. During the period five individuals made over 100 million…
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Reykjavík To Form Special Airbnb Committee
Reykjavík City Council approved yesterday morning the creation of a committee that would begin talks with Airbnb. Vísir reports the capital intends to use cities such as Amsterdam and London as their model for how to deal with rapidly increasing tourism. With…
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Don’t Ask Nanna: About Veganism
Dear Nanna, I’m in the throws of planning a trip to Iceland but I may have a problem after seeing the menus on offer at many of your restaurants. I’m a level 5 vegan ( I won’t eat anything that casts a…
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As Many Tourists Stay Airbnb As In Hotels In Reykjavík
In the first eight months of 2017, 43% of overnight stays in Reykjavík were in Airbnb apartments and rooms, according to a new report by Landsbankinn. According to the report, the number of overnight hotel stays has decreased since last year, while…
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An Airbnb Owner Speaks Out
Unnur María Máney Bergsveinsdóttir, like a lot of Icelanders, rents out her downtown apartment on Airbnb. She travels a lot, especially in the summer, because of her work as a circus performer. She doesn’t rent on the local market because it’s her…
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Iceland Tops List Of Most Expensive Airbnb Prices In Europe
Iceland has once again distinguished itself in the tourism arena, albeit not in a way it would necessarily consider good for the industry. According to data compiled by Vouchercloud, Iceland has the highest rates for Airbnb accommodation, averaging £112 per night. This…
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VIDEO: Understand Icelandic In 3 Words
If you find it too tedious and time consuming to actually learn Icelandic, consider watching this video where we teach you how to pick out three key phrases from conversations with Icelandic people. Listen out for The Weather, Tourism and the Rental…
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Mattress In Backseat Of A Car Available On Airbnb
It’s getting quite expensive to stay in Iceland, but one genius entrepreneur has come up with a brilliant solution—to allow you to Airbnb the back of his car! The accommodation will cost you the paltry sum of 2,745 króna, or £21 a…
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90% Airbnb Increase: 44% Of Rental Market Listed
In the last twelve months, Airbnb listings in Reykjavík have increased 90%, and now account for 44% of the properties on the rent market, Visir reports. The figures come from a report by Professor Jeroen Oskam from Hotelschool The Hague in the…
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Reader Letters: Where Are The Locals?
Dear Grapevine, I’m from London and recently came to Iceland for the first time. Me and my boyfriend stayed in an Airbnb (I know, I know) on Grettisgata. I never met the host – there was a key safe on the door…
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Four Ways That The Tourism Industry Is Eating Itself
And four ways we can make it sustainable. Dr. Ben Henning is not a tourism expert. Rather, he works in geographic information systems cartography. He and his colleague Anne-Cécile Mermet, of Switzerland’s Université de Neuchâtel, have been using tourism data to construct…