What’s going to happen to Airbnb in New York?
The last Friday passed a making it . The bill, which has already been dubbed the , now awaits a veto or approval by New York state governor , would impose a $5,000 fine for first offenders and up to $7,500 for repeat offenses.
New York is the world’s sixth-most popular tourist destination in the world, and receives more than 12 million visitors a year. , it is Airbnb’s most important market. A law of this kind, in a city with some of the most expensive hotels in the world, is going to make life very difficult for many tourists, as well as for through a platform that is increasingly working with them to improve their profitability.
The driving force behind the legislation is the powerful Hotel Trades Council, the biggest hotel labor union in New York, which describes Airbnb as a threat to the jobs of its members, as , the representative proposing the law, recently stated:
“You should know who your neighbor is and what happens when people rent out their apartments on Airbnb is you get strangers. Every night there could be different person sleeping in the next apartment and it shatters that sense of community in the building. It also can be dangerous.”
According to Airbnb’s own surveys, a large number of New Yorkers use Airbnb as a way to earn some extra money by letting out rooms or their entire apartment. Backers of the law say that entire apartment blocks are being turned over to Airbnb lets, meaning they are operating as unlicensed hotels, and that such accommodation could be used by local people looking for a permanent home in a city with a and some of the in the country.
, by 4 percent between October and March, and by 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2016, which has been largely blamed on Airbnb. The company has been trying for some time to pay taxes on its activities as a way of , but for the moment, only a few cities (San Francisco, Portland, Ontario, the state of Alabama, and Brevard County) have reached agreement. As the sharing economy tries to go legal and pay its taxes, traditional sectors are trying to hold onto their position by telling people what they can and cannot do with their property and that tourists continue to visit only licensed hotels.
The law is currently subject to New York’s open legislation system, which allows voters to approve and make any comments about it. This has created an interesting situation by pitting the interests of the hotel industry and its labor unions, along with residents in certain areas tired at the comings and goings of Airbnb users in their buildings, against apartment owners and the tech industry. The response from Airbnb is just one of the factors that governor Cuomo will have to take into account when making his decision, but there is no doubt that a decision against the company would make New York one of the cities with the strictest legislation in this regard. Whatever the outcome, the eyes of the world are going to be on the big apple in the coming months.
(En español, )
