Concrete jungle where rules are made
Whether they’re renting out an empty pad while away to make some extra cash, or hosting travelers as a full-time job, thousands of New York City Airbnb owners’ lives have become a lot more complicated thanks to a new government crackdown on short-term rentals that came into effect on Tuesday.
Under the new regulations — alongside other longstanding, often-ignored legislation — rental hosts now have to register with the city government, leave all doors within the property unlocked, limit their stays to 2 guests for short-term rentals… and hosts must be present for any bookings under 30 days, giving renters a likely-unwanted roommate.
Rental guidance
While the new rules apply across rentals, they’ve undoubtedly hit Airbnb and the thousands of New Yorkers who host on the platform hardest. Data from InsideAirbnb (via Gothamist) reveals that some 15,000 short-term listings have disappeared from the site in a matter of days — with many reclassifying as “long-term” listings overnight. There are also reports of many Airbnb hosts taking their potential bookings “off-platform”, negotiating privately with their would-be guests instead.
For Airbnb as a business, the effects are likely to be pretty negligible. One lawsuit claims the company made $85m from NYC last year — a princely sum, but only roughly 1% of its $8.5bn total. Indeed, investors seem unbothered too — Airbnb shares are up 9.7% in the last 5 days, as the company looks set to join the S&P 500 Index.
