It is called Airbnb. It’s the website up to a dozen sharp-minded Wagga people are using to put their unused bedrooms to work.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A click of a button allows travellers to book a room - or a whole house - in an ordinary Wagga street and stay for as long as is available.
Janette Tucker listed her Kooringal home on the website in 2009 and has since attracted six visitors including one long-term visit.
Ms Tucker’s listing is at the top end of the spectrum at $105 per night, with others charging as much for a whole house or apartment. One user charges as little as $55 for a Tatton room.
“This is the thing about motels - most people just want to sleep in them or to have a shower,” Ms Tucker said. “Why do you need to pay the big price for it?”
The website is being used in big tourism centres such as Sydney and Melbourne to a growing number of users, but not without controversy as governments grapple to adjust laws to catch up with the “share economy”.
Tumut operator David Sheldon said Riverina councils would need to crack down on non-compliance.
The Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTC) chairman said Airbnb users were dodging development application and insurance obligations.
“What about all the motels that have had to jump several council hoops?” he said. “Why am I paying excessive rates when someone up the road gets away with normal residential? Councils play a vital role in this and they have to step up to the mark.”
Airbnb maintains that abiding by rules and regulations is the responsibility of homeowners.
Geoff Kidd, the owner of the Lawson Motor Inn, said cheap prices for rooms would not be sustainable if users were forced to take out insurance.
“If someone falls over in the shower or something like that you would need insurance and it would be pretty hefty,” he said. “You would want public liability to the tune of 10 to 20 million (dollars).”
Mr Kidd believed the website would not affect the city’s major motel operators in the foreseeable future.
But Mr Sheldon said tourism operators needed to adapt to the digital world, which included offering visitors an “experience” and not just a room to stay.
“Anyone can rent out a room,” he said.
Ms Tucker, a former president of the Wagga Business Chamber, said people enjoyed the relaxed nature of her Airbnb offering.
“You don’t have the sterility of motel accommodation. People come and go as they please.”
