October 20, 2016
There’s no surer sign than the home-sharing platform’s pledge this week to go after hosts offering more than one address. The aim is to cut down on emptying out scarce apartment rentals and limit landlords to their own residences. It’s a welcome step and should have happened months ago. Also, the policing of this promise remains to be seen. The “one host, one home” idea could stop the process of spinning badly needed rentals into mini-hotels. It also preserves the positive benefits of home sharing, such as smaller bills for visitors and extra cash for homeowners. But it’s still short of a comprehensive set of rules. Airbnb and similar services say that a city registry is clunky and paper driven, a reason why only 1,650 hosts out of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 have signed up as required…
Source: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Tighter-rules-for-Airbnb-10001726.php