Airbnb’s New Pitch to Cities: We Are Serious About Working Together
Photo Credit: Airbnb has released a new report outlining the company's policies for working with cities and governments on short-term rental regulations. Airbnb / Airbnb
Skift Take
Airbnb says it is willing to work more closely with cities on crafting commonsense short-term rental regulations and policies, but is this enough? And what's preventing the company from helping to enforce existing laws while it works with cities to craft new ones?
On December 7, Airbnb debuted a new 31-page report that summarizes the company's four-pronged approach to working with municipalities to develop commonsense regulations of short-term rentals.
Called "The Airbnb Policy Tool Chest," it outlines four policy options that the company is offering to cities as a means of effectively regulating home sharing.
They involve: tax collection through voluntary collection agreements; tools to address concerns from landlords, property owners, and neighbors; accountability in enforcing certain limits or restrictions on home sharing; and providing data to local authorities without compromising users' privacy.
"Today really reflects the work of the last year of putting those principles [from Airbnb's Community Compact, released in November 2015] into practice," Chris Lehane, Airbnb global head of public policy said during a media conference call. "We really sought to work with cities across the world to address specific policy ideas, practices,
