This is another disappointment for Airbnb. On Monday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an order requiring the American Internet rental giant to provide it with the list of its hosts. This information will be used by the municipality in order to more effectively apply the laws of the State of New York on this type of reservation, in particular the prohibition to rent accommodation for less than 30 days, unless the host is present.
The municipal decree, which will take effect in 180 days, thus forces the site to provide a list of all transactions made for housing within the “Big Apple”. Any breach of this obligation or any erroneous information will be punishable by a fine of at least $ 1,500 per month and per accommodation.
Airbnb says it is “disappointed”
All short-term accommodation sites are affected, but with revenues of $ 805 million in 2018 in the city, Airbnb is the main target site.
Moreover, the latter was quick to react to this decree: the platform says it is “disappointed that the mayor of Blasio has chosen to sign this decree supported by the hotel industry rather than defending the New York middle class. who relies on shared housing to get by, ”said its manager in the northeast region, Josh Meltzer. In a statement posted on Twitter, he said he wanted to “collaborate with the mayor to create a common sense regulation that finally distinguishes these families from a few evil actors.”
Similar agreement in San Francisco
New York is not the first city to take such an initiative. Airbnb’s birthplace, San Francisco, where its headquarters are located, made a similar deal with the platform in May 2017.
Several elected officials from New York have been demanding this decree for many months, affirming that the emergence of Airbnb had Airbnb: Paris more affected than Barcelona, Berlin or New York in the city. It thus had the effect of removing apartments from the ordinary rental stock, which were no longer rented except to passing visitors, most often tourists.
In 2016, New York City had already dealt a blow to Airbnb, by increasing fines aimed at dissuading owners from renting out their accommodation for less than 30 days.
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