AirBnB apartments

It’s telling that the managing director of Williams Corp, Matthew Horncastle, says (June 1) that buyers of apartments built by Williams Corp should be free to use their asset as they choose.

The neighbours are simply asking that buyers obey the District Plan rules. Those rules include not running apartments as an amateur motel through AirBnB without permission. Such unpermitted commercial intrusion has exploded in the last few years, driving neighbours crazy, making local motels uneconomic, and pricing actual residents out of the central city market. It seems to me Williams Corp don’t see the damage, only the profit in selling more apartments.

Dave Kelly, Beckenham (Abridged)