Airbnb has made a flyer to prepare tourists for a visit to Amsterdam. ‘If you can not cycle, do not do it’.
The flyer is intended for landlords. They can print it out and prepare it for visiting guests. The flyer tells the tourist about local customs and desired behavior. For example, under the heading ‘Respect the city’: ‘Be aware of the noise of rolling suitcases on our cobbled streets’. Even the infamous thin walls and wooden floors are explicitly warned for.
Furthermore, tourists are warned about tram tracks and bicycle wheels that can get stuck in them. Cycling is clearly not for everyone: ‘In Amsterdam we love cycling and we are pretty good at it (at least we think so). If you are not a good cyclist, we recommend a different means of transport. ‘
Under the guise of ‘Amsterdam is so much more than just the center and the biggest attractions’, tourists are encouraged to go above and beyond the busy center. On the back of the flyer the landlord can fill in tips for nice eating places and attractions.
The pamphlet lists all the painful points that local Amsterdammers seem to annoy themselves to an increasing degree. For Airnbnb it is increasingly difficult to ignore this criticism. After long negotiations, homes can only be rented for sixty nights a year, an initiative that Airbnb reluctantly supports.
Source: Het Parool
Metropolitan Village 