Airbnb Super-Hosts Have Returned to New York City
Skift Take
Airbnb is still hoping to deal with cities on its own terms, but New York City doesn't appear to want to play ball.
The City Council in New York City held a nearly eight-hour hearing yesterday to discuss the state of short-term rentals in the city, and Airbnb and critics of the service were out in force to advocate for their respective sides of the argument.
Airbnb would like to see the state change a law which makes it illegal to rent an entire apartment for fewer than 30 days a month in New York City. Multiple studies have shown that the majority of the activity on Airbnb involves the host breaking this state law. Many city leaders have asked Airbnb to help the city prevent the activity from taking place, which the short-term rental site has declined to do.
As before, the discussion centered on what the short-term rental business looks like in New York City. Is it people occasionally renting out the homes where they live in order to make ends meet, as Airbnb contends? Or is it there an epidemic of illegal hotels that used to be residential housing, as is often hear
