No, It’s Probably Not A Great Idea To Rent Your Dorm Room On Airbnb

If you were traveling to Boston, an Airbnb listing for a private, one-bedroom unit with a great view of Boston Common might sound pretty attractive. For one college student, however, his success in renting his downtown dorm room was not applauded by his school’s administrators.

A sophomore at Emerson College says he could be facing disciplinary action after renting his room on homesharing site to three people on three separate occasions, reports the Boston Globe. He says he was trying to offset his student expenses, and knowing that tourists would love his part of town.

“Really, the idea just came from the combination of understanding where Emerson is located in the city, and it being in such a heavily-desired neighborhood,” he told the Globe, “and the thought of how I could make a little bit of extra money.”

How much extra money he made from those rentals, he declined to say. His listing was up for two weeks before the school flagged it and asked him to remove it, the student claimed.

Emerson officials told the Globe that it’s against the rules of the school’s housing and residency hall contract, which all students sign, to rent out or sublease a dorm room, or beds.

That rule is there “protect residents and the community from exposure to safety and security risks,” Emerson College said in a statement.

Emerson administrators wouldn’t confirm or deny to the Globe that the student rented out his room, citing federal privacy laws.

“However, an attempt by any student to sublet their Emerson residence hall room would be in clear violation of the college’s residence hall policies,” the school wrote in a statement.

The student admits he violated at least one school policy, and says he’s now facing a disciplinary hearing.

“The decision [about a punishment] is up to the school board, who I have an upcoming hearing with,” he said.

Emerson student could face disciplinary action for renting out dorm room on Airbnb [Boston Globe]

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