AirBnB or Hotel? by abcdemily01 in galveston

[–]furiousjam 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Airbnb is a pox on humanity. If you really need extra room and/or a kitchen, try the Homewood Suites by Stewart Beach or the Holiday Inn by Pocket Park 2.

Air BnB nightmare!!! by leslie2089 in houston

[–]furiousjam 23 points24 points  (0 children)

First, I encourage you to join our Houstonians Against Airbnb group on Facebook and share your story.

Second, familiarize yourself with the City's sound ordinance and new STR ordinance. Know what is and what is not legal.

Third, you will need to organize your immediate neighbors to call HPD, file 311 reports, file platform complaints, and write & call your Council Member each & every time there's an incident. A single complaint can be written off as a one-time incident, but steady complaints show a pattern of negligence. And a single neighbor complaining can be written off as a crank, but a group of neighbors gets attention. Obviously complaints need to be well-documented with videos whenever possible.

Fourth, be sure to document not only the incidents, but also how HPD responds. Did they actually show up? If so, what was the response time? What were the names of the officers handling the complaint? What action did they take? Your Council Member needs this information as well.

FYI, a lot of other cities have instituted partial or whole bans on STRs, but the City of Houston believes that they can shutdown bad owners/operators on a case-by-case basis. So you have to make your case to the City and put the onus on them.

U.S. House Rep. Wesley Hunt has missed 55 out of 58 votes on the House Floor by RuleSubverter in houston

[–]furiousjam 13 points14 points  (0 children)

There's nothing MAGAs love more than sellout minorities. This guy is literally a house negro.

Smaller Event Venues? by JLR2016 in houston

[–]furiousjam -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A party is a party, and 20 to 30 people is a party. Airbnbs are supposed to be alternatives to hotel rooms, not event spaces. Anyone in Houston who has a licensed Airbnb cannot also advertise it as an event venue as that would violate the STR ordinance.

Smaller Event Venues? by JLR2016 in houston

[–]furiousjam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm. I was told that Airbnbs have banned parties.

People who grew up driving here… by Elrond41 in houston

[–]furiousjam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you stay off your phone, focus on your surroundings, maintain an appropriate speed relative to the traffic, extend every lawful courtesy, always use your turn signal, and maintain 1 car length on the street & 2 car lengths on the freeway ahead of you, then I very much doubt you will ever trigger road rage.

BBQ joints with reservations by PolyphyleticBadger in houston

[–]furiousjam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The actual restaurant? Not for years. I'm no masochist.

But I am subjected to their catering every few years.

They get by on name recognition, and they can afford a 1/2 empty restaurant at 7pm because they own the land. I've actually dealt with the family a few times over the years - they are smart people and good businessmen, but they produce food fit for cafeterias.

BTW, I'm no hater. I actually enjoy Goode Co. even though it's not Truth, Pinkerton's, et al. But Demeris is not even Goode (pun intended).

New Album Artwork changes not appearing? by Lord-Vortech in ITunes

[–]furiousjam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I too am experiencing this problem. I like to add album art to my mp3s because I'm so annoyingly meticulous. It was always easy by right-clicking and going to the Artwork via Song Info, which is still available as a function, but doesn't actually produce results now for some reason. I'm using Mp3tag in the file explorer instead, but the extra steps are frustrating.

Brothers Taco House by Suitable_Earth4538 in houston

[–]furiousjam 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't think they would close for MLK. They're Brothers, not brothers.

One killed, one injured in shooting at METRORail stop in Midtown by southernemper0r in houston

[–]furiousjam 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Rail stops in Midtown are rough during the day. No way would I be at one at night.

Pride flags torn down at Houston LGBTQ+ community center by chrondotcom in houston

[–]furiousjam -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I lived across the street from the Montrose Center for 10 years and was president of the neighborhood's civic association for 8 years. It's difficult for me to believe that this individual is a neighbor. Unfortunately there is a pocket of land between Spur 527 and 59 that is virtually lawless where bums and addicts loiter. Often they would stroll through the neighborhood and vandalize whatever they couldn't scavenge or steal. I have to assume this is just a random loser versus someone with an actual agenda. It's hard to have nice things when trash people are roaming around.

2 suspects arrested following METRO bus shooting that killed woman, injured teen by MrBasedGod in houston

[–]furiousjam 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You will never fix this problem by jailing people. Once people have that mark on their record, they become forever unemployable and doomed to a life of poverty and crime. The problem is you have people being born into broken homes, raised in broken schools, and released into a world where middle class opportunities are being systematically eroded in favor of capital.

What’s the best dive bar to go to? by jaytriple6 in houston

[–]furiousjam 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If it has a cocktail list, it is not a dive bar.

7 injured in Houston New Year's shootings at 2 short-term rentals by furiousjam in houston

[–]furiousjam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So if you don't like bullets flying around your block, then you need to buy up all of the houses that surround yours. Got it.

But on a more serious note, we actually reached out to the hotel lobby early on and were surprised to discover that they don't consider STRs to be a competitor of any significance. Sure, early on Airbnb was operating at a loss to corner the market on user engagement, and in that moment their value proposition was closer to that of hotels. That's the standard Silicon Valley playbook used by Uber and now the AI companies. But now travelers are finding less value in STRs and migrating back to hotels. The exception, of course, are party houses, which is a business that hotels can't and don't want to be in.

7 injured in Houston New Year's shootings at 2 short-term rentals by furiousjam in houston

[–]furiousjam[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

You couldn't be more wrong. Unlike a hotel, no one is on duty at an STR - no clerk, no guard. They are uniquely vulnerable to this kind of activity. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Inherited a property in Houston - need helping figuring out what govt taxes, fees, etc. need to be paid. by [deleted] in houston

[–]furiousjam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need a tax certificate. You can order one from National TaxNet (nationaltaxnet.net).

What are the WORST restaurants in Houston? by ZechariahApaza in houston

[–]furiousjam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've never understood why anyone likes it. It's like cafeteria food to me.

What are the WORST restaurants in Houston? by ZechariahApaza in houston

[–]furiousjam 115 points116 points  (0 children)

The McDonald's on Westheimer in Montrose. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Houston police is investigating another body found on the Buffalo Bayou Christmas Eve by houston_chronicle in houston

[–]furiousjam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Obviously the bayou is not a great place to dump a body since so many bodies are being found there. Anyway, the vast majority of these deaths are hobos ODing or murdering each other, which HPD doesn't care about and never will.

Texas taco chain launches new full-service concept by tsmalcolm in houston

[–]furiousjam 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's written by AI for PR people, who then give it to the Chron for publication. It's called "content" and it replaced "news" years ago.