Airbnb Educates Seattle’s STR Community
("Airbnb launches Seattle registration educational campaign," airbnb Citizen on May 21, 2019)
Since Seattle’s STR regulations went into effect on January 1st of this year, we have been watching, and waiting, for the Seattle STR regulations to be enforced. Enforcement has already been delayed once and, as a result, Seattle hosts now have until September 1, 2019 to add a license number to their listing page. Airbnb has invested resources in a campaign to educate its host community about compliance, including hosting in-person workshops, reaching out to existing hosts via email and through its app and publishing online resources.
Other news:
Industry News
Marriott and Airbnb are evolving, illustrating how disruption works
Business Intelligence News on May 28, 2019
Observing how Marriott is adding to their offering and how Airbnb adjusts their own is a great case study for how industry disruption works. The post Marriott and Airbnb are evolving, illustrating how disruption works.
Airbnb Crosses 1 Million Listings in Asia-Pacific Despite Hurdles
Skift Travel News on May 27, 2019
Airbnb has crossed one million listings across Asia-Pacific, and more than 100 million guests have checked into an Airbnb in the region, providing hosts with earnings of around $10 billion.
Airbnb competitor expands to S.F. to turn empty apartments into pop-up hotel rooms
Biz Journal - Residential Real Estate on May 24, 2019
Airbnb has dominated the hospitality industry by sharing people's homes. Now, a Washington, D.C.-based startup is popping up before anyone actually moves in.
Regulations & Legal Developments
Airbnb appealing ruling on Boston’s short term rental law
York Herald Online Business News on Jun 4, 2019
Airbnb is appealing a judge's ruling on Boston's new ordinance regulating short-term rentals. The San Francisco-based company filed an appeal notice in Boston federal court Monday. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked Boston from imposing two provisions challenged by Airbnb, but allowed the city to impose a $300 a day fine if a company like Airbnb or its rivals like HomeAway or VRBO collect fees on rental units considered ineligible under the new rules that took effect in January.
LA’s new Airbnb rules may price out some short-term renters in beach towns
Real Deal - LA Real Estate News on Jun 4, 2019
Los Angeles’ new short-term rental regulations go into effect next month, but questions remain about enforcement in coastal areas like Venice — one of the most popular neighborhoods for the Airbnb-type rentals. The new law is supposed to prevent bad actors from converting apartments into illegitimate hotels for an endless supply of visitors.
Could Short-Term Home Rentals Become Illegal Almost Everywhere?
Connecticut Law Tribune News on Jun 4, 2019
Local governments and state courts nationwide could start to find that a short-term rental is inconsistent with zoning definitions of “family and “single housekeeping unit, thereby making such rentals illegal in most places.
Michigan court ruling could harm Airbnbs, short-term rentals
St. Joseph News-Press Now on May 30, 2019
A Michigan court of appeals ruling that short-term rentals are a commercial use of property, not a residential use, could harm companies like Airbnb because local governments then can restrict such rentals through zoning ordinances.
Proposed short-term rental regulations 'take away property rights,' Spanish Town residents say
The Advocate - Louisiana News on May 27, 2019
While residents in the Spanish Town Historic District want the city-parish to regulate the short-term rentals in their neighborhood, a proposed ordinance that surfaced recently is not what they had in mind.
San Diego short-term vacation rental bill moves to Senate
CBS8 - Politics on May 25, 2019
A move to crack down on short-term vacation rentals is moving through the state legislature. An Encinitas assemblymember is calling for restrictions on Airbnb-type rental homes in coastal communities in San Diego County only.
Raleigh To Regulate Room Rentals And Enforce Whole House Airbnb Ban
Raleigh Times on May 23, 2019
Raleigh To Regulate Room Rentals And Enforce Whole House Airbnb Ban WUNC The Raleigh City Council sent mixed messages Tuesday night about the future of short-term rentals like Airbnb
Enforcement
Airbnb to give city access to 17,000 New York City listings
Real Estate Weekly on May 29, 2019
The information will be used by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement to identify hosts and property owners who may have broken the city’s short-term rental laws by converting residences into de facto hotels by listing them on Airbnb.
St. Paul investigating TripAdvisor over short-term rental offers
Biz Journal - Travel on May 28, 2010
TripAdvisor, the well-known travel website, is drawing scrutiny from St. Paul officials for apparently offering apartments and houses for rent in the city — a practice that the city requires a specialized license for.
City sues HomeAway for failure to submit listings data
The Real Deal - New York on May 23, 2019
The city is suing HomeAway to force the short-term rental website to turn over records related to listings on its platform.
Taxation
In N.J., a move to fix 'Airbnb tax' on Shore rentals
Philadelphia Business Journal on May 28, 2019
New Jersey lawmakers are moving to exempt many Shore-goers from an unpopular new tax on home rentals, but it’s still unclear when the change would take effect — and who exactly it would help.
