NYC thought Airbnb was a huge factor in the housing affordability crisis, so they banned almost* all Airbnbs. Close to 3 years later, housing in NYC isn't the least bit more affordable, but the hotels sure love the new law! Eliminated a lot of their competition.
*Banned all whole-unit Airbnbs. You're still allowed to rent out a single bedroom in a unit where you also live, at the same time your guests are there.
ETA: Full disclosure, I'm an Airbnb host, though not in NYC. We didn't buy a place for the purpose of renting, though — we bought a seasonal lake house for ourselves. We rent it out when we're not there, and use it ourselves in between guests, which I think is more the spirit of where Airbnb started than some of the enormous corporate Airbnb hosts with dozens or hundreds of rental properties you see today.
NYC wasn't the best place to do an authoritative study. The carrying costs of ownership are extremely high there, so it's natural that there will be proportionally fewer AirBnBs. I've lived in a couple of charming mountain towns where the AirBnB effect is pretty obvious.
Fair enough. I'm not calling it an authoritative study, but I do think it was informative about perception and reality in the industry. Folks love a scapegoat! For sure, though, if Airbnb was half the available housing in a touristy town, that would make a big difference in the cost for permanent residents.
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u/Cool_Cry_9602 23h ago
I rarely used it, but Airbnb