CEO DATELINE - Hotel association accuses Airbnb of running illegal lodging
CEO DATELINE - Hotel association accuses Airbnb of running illegal lodging
- January 21, 2016 |
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Walt Williams
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A report commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found that a large percentage of the revenue generated by the online lodging reservation company Airbnb comes from unregulated "full-time operators" that could be skirting health and safety laws.
Airbnb allows users to book reservations with individuals who are seeking to rent out a spare room or a residence for a short time. Many of these individuals are only looking to make some extra cash on the side.
However, AHLA's study found that 40 percent of Airbnb's rentals in the nation's 12 largest cities are available for most of the year, meaning they should be regulated like other lodging companies, according to the association.
In addition, the study, conducted by Penn State University researchers, concluded that 30 percent of Airbnb's revenue in the cities examined came from full-time operators.
"It is now abundantly clear, thanks to this unique and comprehensive study, that Airbnb's community of ‘hosts' is becoming increasingly dominated by full-time corporate landlords, intent on skirting tax laws and flouting health and safety standards. Airbnb—and likely its competitors—is not only enabling this illicit activity, but also misleading the public by continually depicting its business as helping individuals make ends meet," AHLA CEO Katherine Lugar wrote in a letter sent to the 51 state attorneys general.
The hotel industry is locked in a public relations war with Airbnb, which competes with hotels for customers. Hotel owners and AHLA argue the company allows individuals to run lodging operations that not only avoid safety and zoning regulations, but taxes as well. http://bit.ly/1nbNtJz
Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas dismissed the study in an interview with Fortune magazine. He said all it shows is "the hotel industry gets what it pays for, which in this case is a specious study intended to mislead and manipulate." http://for.tn/1QgYdAe
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