August 23, 2016
Airbnb Inc. is shaking up the hospitality industry by helping turn people’s homes into hotel rooms. Now it is facing turbulence of its own. The San Francisco company, founded eight years ago, has been a hit with travelers as well as home dwellers looking to rent out their places for extra income. It now operates in 34,000 cities around the world and was recently valued by investors at $25.5 billion. But many local governments are pushing back. Some are aggressively enforcing longstanding rules prohibiting short-term rentals. Others are moving to pass new rules, worried that Airbnb is contributing to a shortage of affordable housing by turning scarce apartments into hotel rooms, or that the service could transform quiet residential neighborhoods into party hot spots. The backlash from local governments has created an opening for San Francisco startup Host Compliance, which formed last year to help cities—from ski towns to coastal enclaves—crack down on Airbnb abuses by rooting out rental listings that violate local laws….
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/want-to-book-an-airbnb-stay-not-so-fast-1471953600
Menu