According to a widely-cited report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (“AH&LA”) and consultant CBRE Hotels, many Airbnb hosts are operating unlawful hotels.
AH&LA distributed the report, and consultant CBRE Hotels compiled data from Airdna, a company that provides data and analytics to vacation-rental entrepreneurs and investors. Travel Weekly
In the United States, Airbnb hosts with multiple units make the biggest revenue impact in vacation and resort destinations, such as Oahu and Miami, suggesting that many landlords are operating “illegal hotels” there, the AH&LA report said. Meanwhile, it is growing most slowly in New York, according to the report, suggesting that crackdown efforts by New York state and city officials, plus pressure from hotel lobbyists, might have affected Airbnb’s business there. Travel Weekly
As a footnote, overall Airbnb revenue in New York jumped 39% from a year earlier, to $635.4 million, making it by far Airbnb’s largest U.S. market. Los Angeles was the second-largest Airbnb market by revenue, with its hosts generating $426 million for the year ended September 2016. Travel Weekly
The AH&LA said the report proved that landlords with multiple Airbnb listings are the fastest-growing contingent in the booming peer-to-peer rental market. An AH&LA representative reiterated the trade group's long-held position that Airbnb hosts are at a competitive advantage over hotel operators because hosts can skirt safety, building code and tax regulations applicable to the lodging industry. Travel Weekly
Similarly, about 52% of Airbnb rentals in Toronto are listed through “hosts” who are doing this for multiple units, according to Professor Gibbs at the Institute for Hospital and Tourism Research at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, which recently held a symposium on Airbnb. This suggests they are simply running illegal hotels and, as a result, San Francisco and other cities have demanded that Airbnb impose a “one home, one host” rule. The Huffington Post
The City of New York and the State of New York have begun to crack down on hosts with multiple units. Since 2010, it has been illegal under city law to rent out a home in a building with more than two dwellings, in most cases, and where the resident is not present while guests are staying. Yet, Airbnb offers 46,000 units in the City of New York, where authorities say it threatens hotels and takes affordable housing out of a market desperate for more. The Guardian
Tatiana Cames, a host who advertised “shabby chic” apartments in Brooklyn to tourists and business travelers, was fined $5,000. Penalties will escalate if she continues renting. The fine was seen by one state assembly member as “just the beginning” of the crackdown. The Guardian
Cames was described by the city council as a broker who bought a Brooklyn brownstone for $2 million in 2015, and then rented five apartments inside it via Airbnb. She was fined $1,000 for each apartment. If found in violation a second time, the penalty rises to $5,000 per unit, then $7,500. The listing has been removed from Airbnb. The Guardian