City Council challenges Airbnb
New York City’s City Council voted on Wednesday to move forward a bill that intends to restrict the actions of rental services such as Airbnb. Hosts will need to register with the Office of Special Enforcement in order to continue renting their spaces short-term.
If the bill passes, Airbnb will have to provide the city with their listings’ addresses, host-names, and their primary addresses.
This bill is intended to help NYC in its efforts to halt the operation of illegal hotels, which are commonplace in the city. If companies like Airbnb don’t deliver this information, they will face a $1,500 fine.
Airbnb strongly opposes the bill, as they believe their service is a great way for struggling New York residents to make extra money. The company also accused the New York City Council of profiting from hotels.
Airbnb spokesperson Liz DeBold Fusco stated:
After taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the hotel industry, we’re not surprised the City Council refused to meet with their own constituents who rely on home sharing to pay the bills and then voted to protect the profits of big hotels. The fix was in from the start and now New Yorkers will be subject to unchecked, aggressive harassment and privacy violations, rubber stamped by the City Council.
Airbnb host Stanley Karol plans on filing a lawsuit against the city, claiming that hosting people in his home is his right.
It will be interesting to see if this bill passes; if it does, it could influence similar policies in other cities across the nation.
Featured Image via Pexels/Pixabay
