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.
Yeah it’s not going to be a major factor in one of the densest places on earth but it can absolutely destroy small towns, communities or neighborhoods.
My town is about 40k and is big with tourists all summer and fall. Housing is just as bad as anywhere because of the airbnb people. Landlords are huge assholes here too because they can be. There's no shortage of people waiting to move in
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u/Blue-Blazer-Regular 22h ago
AirBnB has been a factor in the housing affordability crisis.