Airbnb critics join in Sen. Elizabeth Warren's call for transparent data
Leaders from more than a dozen American cities have urged the Federal Trade Commission to quantify how much of the short-term rental market is actually commercial business.
Leaders from more than a dozen American cities have urged the Federal Trade Commission to quantify how much of the short-term rental market is actually commercial business.
As soaring demand has sent rents skyward across many urban centers in the United States, city leaders have聽tried to identify problems and find affordable housing solutions for working class and poor residents. More than 40 of these local leaders said Thursday that they suspect Airbnb and similar short-term rental services could be, in part, to blame.
In a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, representatives from more than a dozen American cities, including the nation's most expensive rental markets 鈥� from New York City and Boston to San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose 鈥� called for greater transparency about the "sharing economy" company's effect on surrounding communities.
The letter argues that local authorities need reliable data from Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, and FlipKey to distinguish users who merely rent out their own homes for short periods of time from those who run multi-property commercial enterprises that could be flouting additional rules and regulations.
"Permitting or encouraging commercial operating would stand in start contrast to the public image of home sharing presented by the industry," the letter states.
Whether home-sharing services share in the blame or not, it is clear that rising rental prices take a toll on certain communities, as 海角大神's Jessica Mendoza reported in April:
And this inequality trickles down with negative impacts on individual residents, too:
The city leaders acknowledged in their FTC letter that policies need to evolve in the face of evolving industries, but they noted that the balancing act of competing interests must include consumer protections and affordable long-term housing considerations as well.
"Our cities are working to develop and implement policies that allow residents to legally use short-term rental platforms, and also safeguard scarce affordable rental housing by preventing illegal commercial operations," the letter adds.
The message echoed a similar July letter to the FTC from three Democratic US senators: Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California, and Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
Citing a report from the New York Attorney General's Office, the senators wrote that 72 percent of the units available via Airbnb in New York City appeared to violate state and local law.
"In order to assess ... the use and impact of the short-term rental market, we need reliable data on the commercial use of online platforms," the senators wrote. "We believe the FTC is best positioned to address this data gap in an unbiased manner and we urge the Commission to conduct a review or commercial operators on short-term rental platforms."
In a statement, Airbnb said the company has聽"participated in meetings with the FTC and discussed how Airbnb fights hotel price gouging and are eager to work with lawmakers and regulators at any level of government who want to learn more about how home sharing helps the middle class," as The Guardian reported.
The company noted, furthermore, that Airbnb hosts keep 97 percent of the proceeds from their listings, adding that many of them "depend on this extra income to help make ends meet."