Skift Take
One would think that a city that permits a thriving red light district would be less picky about illegal hotels, but Amsterdam isn’t going to sit back as many as 4,000 residents earn an extra untaxed income.
Following legal issues across the US, Airbnb is facing serious conflicts with the local government in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
…things appear to be escalating quickly: reports are surfacing that next week a team of civil servants will go out on the streets to look for illegal hotel activities.
This isn’t an isolated issue [half of Airbnb’s listings in New York City are illegal], and it signals major problems for Airbnb in the long run. A full ban in Amsterdam could cause a chain reaction, but that may not even be necessary to cause major issues for the service; a wide-scale scare such as this could turn the city against the service as residents face massive fines.
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch
Photo credit: Residents and tourists linger around the canal on a spring day in Amsterdam. Claudio Alejandro Mufarrege / Flickr