Frequent complaints of disturbance to residents... group rental with high and low beds scattered and covered in the shell of "youth tourism": located in residential areas | prestigious families | Shanghai
On February 1, 2023, the Shanghai Housing Rental Regulations were officially implemented, with legislation prohibiting group rental. This brings great joy to the residents living in the Wangzu City in Xuhui District.
A few years ago, a youth hostel opened in Building 5 of the community. The original room structure was destroyed and divided into several independent rooms, with high and low beds arranged to accommodate nearly 40 people. Every night, tenants come and go, causing considerable inconvenience to the residents of the community.
I thought that with the introduction of regulations, this behavior would soon be banned. Half a year has passed, but this youth hostel shows no signs of closure. Citizens have no choice but to call the 12345 Citizen Service Hotline for help, hoping to eradicate the illegal group rental phenomenon in Building 5.
At the same time, the Liberation Summer Action has also received feedback from many citizens, stating that in recent years, with the rapid development of homestays, the phenomenon of group rental using "youth tourism" as packaging shells in residential communities has become particularly prominent. These youth tourism establishments set up in residential communities often exist in the form of "large shops" and "upper and lower shops", with a large number of occupants and serious safety risks. They are puzzled: even if it is group rental, how can they avoid supervision by labeling it as "youth tourism"? In response, the reporter visited several youth tourism companies established in residential areas to explore the truth.
"Youth Travel" in Residential Areas
When it comes to "youth tourism", it is not unfamiliar to everyone and is one of the most commonly considered accommodation locations for budget limited self guided tourists. Associate Professor Wu Ben from the Department of Tourism at Fudan University introduced that in academic terms, "youth hostels" specifically refer to "youth hostels". They originated in Germany in 1909 and were introduced to China in the 1990s. These "youth hostels" must comply with the unified management of the International Youth Hostel Alliance. However, with the development of the market, more and more youth hostels and hostels that borrow the concept of "youth tourism" have emerged in China. "In fact, these accommodation types, also known as" youth tourism ", are very different from the original intention of operating youth hostels. More accurately, they should be a type of short-term rental."
This youth hostel located in the Wangzu City community of Xuhui District is the latter. It is located on the 24th floor of Building 5 in the community. The reporter followed the navigation to the outside of Building 5 and found that the gate was tightly locked. After circling around, they were unable to find a way to enter. After inquiring with passersby, the reporter learned that Building 5 is the only dual-use commercial and residential building in the Wangzu City community, gathering various types of enterprises of different natures. For the convenience of management, at 6 pm, after the employees of the company finish work one after another, the door of Building 5 will be closed. Guests who wish to enter the building must take a detour to the front door of the community, complete visitor registration and facial recognition before entering.
Building 5, Wangzu City Community.
Entering Building 5, the first thing that catches your eye is a notice board labeled with the names of businesses on each floor. Housekeeping agencies, logistics companies, design companies, and residential buildings are crowded with various types of businesses on different floors. The reporter arrived at this youth hostel on the 24th floor. Apart from the sign at the staircase, it looked more like a residence from the outside, with cabinets and household items piled up outside the anti-theft door. When the reporter arrived, the anti-theft door was open, and as you approached, you could have a clear view of the interior: the living room was equipped with all kinds of daily necessities such as televisions, serving as both a family living area and the front desk of the hotel. Upon hearing that the reporter had checked in, the landlady stood up from the sofa, registered her ID card on the computer at the door, and then walked straight into the room with the reporter.
The front desk area and living room are integrated.
The reporter noticed that there are a total of 6 rooms in the entire house, divided into three sizes: four person, six person, and eight person. The room ordered by the reporter is an eight person room, with 4 high and low beds placed inside, and 6 people have already moved in. Each bed is separated by an orange partition curtain, and there is a charging port on each side of the bed. The indoor space is very crowded, with no ventilation windows, only air conditioning and the simplest living equipment. The clothes and miscellaneous items of the guests are scattered everywhere. Moreover, the reporter did not see any corresponding fire-fighting equipment, except for a wooden door that does not require a room card and can be opened and closed at any time, and there are no anti-theft measures. When asked about the fire protection in the area, the property staff of Wangzu City Community responded, "There are fire protection facilities in the building, but we cannot manage the private areas inside the house."
Each bed is equipped with a charging port.
Long term migrant workers and temporary residents come and go, and there are still many residents coming and going around midnight. Occasionally, there are also residents organizing activities such as murder screenplays and KTV, which inevitably make noise. "Many residents have complained that this hotel is disturbing the residents," the property manager recalled.
Where is the difficulty of rectification?
When residents called the 12345 Citizen Service Hotline, they said that the building is a residential building and according to regulations, hotels cannot be opened. However, during the visit, the reporter saw that there were many enterprises inside the building. Regarding this, the property staff explained that the building was designed and built as a dual-use commercial and residential building during the planning and sales stages. However, due to adjustments in real estate policies, the final property rights were displayed as apartments. "The homeowners who purchased the house paid for commercial buildings, which were even more expensive at the time. They were also very aggrieved, which can be considered a historical legacy issue."
There are many enterprises in the building.
It is precisely because of the unclear nature of property rights that management is in a dilemma. The hotels in the building are still operating, "not strictly in the hotel accommodation industry, but more like homestays." The property manager said, "It is said that they have requested to move out."
The reporter further verified the situation with the local street, and the relevant staff introduced that there was more than one youth travel operator in Building 5, although they called themselves "youth hostels" on the Internet platform, which were essentially apartments and could not be used for business. After receiving the complaint, the relevant departments of the street have filed a case for similar "youth tourism" in Building 5. It is reported that the other hotels in Building 5 have been renovated, and only one is temporarily allowed to stay for transition due to the time difference between delivery to the new address.
From then on, the long-standing problem of disturbing residents in the Wangzu City community has finally been resolved. In other communities, group rental housing similar to those covered in "youth tourism" shells has just begun to sprout. In the Xiuyiyuan community of Pudong New Area, there is more than one "Youth Travel" housing listed on a certain platform: Buildings 32, 7, and 5 all have Youth Travel opened, and most of them are classified as "homestays", many of which are newly opened in 2023. However, Mr. Fang, who has stayed in the "Lemon Youth Travel", did not have a good experience. "In fact, it is just a group rental room, and listening to the conversations between permanent residents can also determine that it is the residence of migrant workers." He believes that this type of "hostel" in residential buildings has long deviated from the original intention of the "Youth Travel", without any qualifications for hotel operation, and there are significant safety hazards. He calls on relevant departments to strengthen management.
On a certain platform, there are many "youth tourism" located in Xiuyi Garden.
Xiuyi Garden is a residential community.
Regarding this, Wu Benshen believes that "legitimate hotels need to strictly comply with the" Hotel Industry Public Security Management Measures ", obtain relevant documents such as business licenses and special industry permits before opening for business. This type of short-term rental housing opened in residential areas is obviously not in compliance. As far as I know, it is difficult for relevant departments to approve it, and it should be a type of non-standard accommodation. It can be said that it is playing the sidelines of homestays, located in the gray area."
Behind it: Weak management of urban homestays
According to insiders, the homestay industry is a form of individual to individual "sharing economy", with over 60% of individuals/family landlords currently being non professionals. It falls under one of the four categories of exemption from obtaining licenses under the E-commerce Law and does not require market entity registration. For the management of urban homestays, although the Shanghai Notice on Issuing Several Provisions on Standardizing the Management of Short term Rental of Houses in this City stipulates that conducting short term rental activities should comply with the village management regulations. If there is no agreement or unclear agreement in the management regulations, unanimous consent from interested owners should be obtained, and a "Public Security Responsibility Guarantee" should be signed with the local public security police station where the house is located. However, in practical operation, if you want to launch a homestay, you only need to provide housing information and identity proof.
△ To launch "Youth Travel" on the platform, you can choose the type of homestay and provide one out of three identification documents and personal information.
The reporter consulted with frontline law enforcement officers and learned that after opening homestays in residential areas, houses have changed from simple residential properties to business premises, and the business format has changed. The corresponding management requirements will also change accordingly. "After the industry changes, will the management standards be different from ordinary residential properties? This needs to be more clear." The reporter noticed that the Shanghai Housing Management Bureau has publicly replied to a proposal, stating that considering the differences between short-term housing rental and general housing rental, which are not included in the scope of application of the Regulations, it is advisable to adjust them through other specialized legal norms.
This management gap provides rich soil for informal "youth tourism". Associate Professor Liu Deyan from the School of Tourism at Shanghai Normal University stated that all unregistered "youth tourism" located in residential areas belong to disguised group rental. Relevant departments must intervene in a timely manner and ban it. "This group rental under the guise of 'youth tourism' poses significant safety risks to residents and is not conducive to the healthy development of the industry."
With the trend of "traveling does not necessarily require staying in a hotel" becoming a consumption trend among young people, similar urban short-term rental housing management has become a challenge facing management departments. "Under the guidance of the national rural revitalization strategy, the standardized development of rural homestays has gradually become a trend in various provinces and cities, and the same is true in the suburbs of Shanghai. Relatively speaking, the nature of urban homestays and short-term rental housing is more complex, with more types, and it is also more difficult to access and regulate." Wu Ben suggested that measures such as establishing a joint law enforcement mechanism should be considered to clarify the requirements for short-term rental housing management standards, contract management, hardware facilities, platform obligations, etc. as soon as possible, filling the legal gap.
