Airbnb Misleading their Hosts – and Communities Across the Country
While the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees kickoff a three-game series tonight in their legendary rivalry, government officials from both cities are facing a common adversary both in the media and on social media, Airbnb.
In case you missed, Airbnb has been playing dirty politics by sending a baseless e-mail to thousands of Boston customers blasting local Councilwoman Wu last month for her attempts to push for reasonable short-term rental regulations. Airbnb was caught distributing blatant lies and misleading statements by the local media and officials.
Then over the weekend, Airbnb attacked the New York City Comptroller for a report his office released showing New York City renters had to pay an additional $616 million in 2016 due to price pressures created by AirBNB according to a USA Today article. Airbnb responded by attacking comptroller in the media and launching this vicious attack ad.
Then, Airbnb got into a dust up with New York Assemblywoman, Yuh-Line Niou, on Twitter which heated up to the point where Assemblywoman Niou blasted Airbnb for its negative impact on New York housing. “With all due respect, @airbnb is welcome to come dig in the dumpsters with me for my constituent’s belongings next time another person gets displaced thanks to your company.” Bowery Boogie, a news site covering the Lower East Side of New York City, captured the exchange in the below article, including links to actual tweets.
Airbnb’s bullying tactics are a perfect example of why it’s so important for neighborhood residents, who are negatively impacted by short-term rentals, to contact their government officials and thank them for their efforts in passing common-sense regulations and standing strong against the baseless attacks and misleading tactics from Airbnb.
Airbnb is misleading their hosts into thinking their homesharing is under attack, when in reality cities are only trying to regulate commercial hosts who are running illegal hotels in residential neighborhoods and driving up rent prices.
Read more from the Boston Globe