HYDERABAD: An increasing number of people are renting out their apartment spaces through mobile-based applications to those in need. It makes for a perfect option for travellers on a shoestring budget and provides an opportunity for house owners to make some extra bucks. But what if it were to be used by anti-social elements carry out their sinister plans? Going by the current setting, miscreants can leave the place without a trace.
Unlike registered hotels that keep a guest book with contact details of customers, those renting out their apartments or homes to strangers via apps like Airbnb do not keep track of any such documents. The police say they keep an eye on paying guests and who runs them but are clueless about those staying at such accommodations for just a few days.
Airbnb is a marketplace that allows homeowners to rent out their villas, apartments or share their living space with a stranger or a group of strangers for few days. The company is valued over 30 billion US dollars and is giving stiff competition to hotels in Hyderabad. Most of the houses on rent are located in and around Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli, Madhapur, Hi-Tech city areas.
There are over 500 rental spaces from Hyderabad available for rent on Airbnb. The company offers prospective property owners the potential earn anywhere between Rs 11,000 to Rs 18,000 per month per guest. An estimate based on various factors such as occupancy rate, season, demand etc.To stay at any hotel in the city or anywhere else in India, one needs to provide any photo identity card such as passport, voter identity card, aadhaar card, pan card, driving licence, Photo ID issued by any government office.
The rules apply even when you book a hotel through an app, the onus of collecting lodgers details rests with the host.
However, Hyderabadi hosts on Airbnb do not collect such details. “The app allows me to check if the person hosting has any positive or negative reviews from those who had hosted them before. I do not collect any identification documents as most of the people who visit our families are coming to Hyderabad for sightseeing,” says Sajid Ahmed, a super host with Airbnb.
Interestingly, Ahmed does not own the place, he has rented it and is sub-renting out a villa at Banjara Hills. “I give the house owner who lives abroad a share of what I earn through the app,” he added.
“People who are renting out are supposed to collect the basic details but due to the sheer number of people, we are unable to keep track.,” said K Goverdhan Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Madhapur, Cyberabad.
“When it comes to someone renting out their apartments or their villas for commercial activity for two or three days we do not have any idea when they give or to whom they give,” said S Ravindar, Station House Officer at Panjagutta Police station, under whose station limits a few of the Airbnb houses were listed.