Airbnb Under Attack Again - Linked to Rising Housing Costs
Airbnb may be a godsend for those of us looking to travel and stay someplace that doesn’t charge us more than $100 a night just to have a bed to sleep in. But to the businesses of
The big problem here is that some landlords are reserving their apartments exclusively for short-term rentals. This means fewer places for actual New Yorkers to live and creates a lot of competition for hotels and other accommodations. And while I’m all for people making a living the best way they can, some of it’s pretty ridiculous. In fact, about 72% of the rentals in NYC that come via Airbnb are illegal. I don’t think targeting Airbnb is the right way to handle this problem, however. The real perpetrators of this issue are the landlords that can’t seem to follow the laws. Let’s work on dealing with who is committing the crime, not a legitimate business that provides better alternatives to people that want to visit (and spend money in) New York.
Photo courtesy of nymag.com