Skift Take
Airbnb has crafted an ideal template for telling the same old story when it comes to dealing with short-term rental regulations around the world, and more cities just don't seem to want to hear it anymore.
Airbnb's No. 1 market in the world, Paris, is not happy with the platform's business operations.
The city is suing the online travel company, as well as its homesharing peers Paris Attitude and Wimdu, in a lawsuit that could have a lasting impact on how short-term rentals are regulated in major metropolitan cities.
Paris wants Airbnb and other platforms to ensure that any short-term rental listings on their sites without a formal registration number, as well as those that do not comply with the city's 120-day annual cap rentals, are removed.
If the city wins its case on June 12, up to 43,000 of Airbnb's listings in Paris, which account for two-thirds of its 65,000 listings, may disappear from the platform.
The city instituted a 120-day cap on short-term rentals in four of its 20 arrondissements in November. And in December, the city required Parisians who engage in short-term rental activity to have registration numbers.
Like many other major cities around the world, Paris has had a contentious relationship with Airbnb, with an estimated value of $31 billion. It is the homesharing giant's biggest market, both in terms of number of nights booked and the number of listings.
In each of its previous regulatory battles, whether in New York, San Francisco, London, Barcelona, or Berlin, Airbnb's playbook for handling these situations is very much the same, despite the differences in local laws. Paris is no different.
Airbnb's official statement on the Paris lawsuit reads: "We are disappointed by this decision, which will hurt local families who share their homes and puts their needs behind the financial interests of big hotel chains and well-funded lobby groups. Homesharing rules in Paris are complex, confusing, and designed for professional operators and big businesses. We will continue working with Paris on clear and simple rules that work for everyone — not just big businesses."
It's a response we've heard time and again from the company when it comes to its regulatory battles.
Here's a breakdown of the company's five defense points.
1. This Hurts People Just Trying to Make Ends Meet
The Airbnb Citizen site is filled with profiles of individual Airbnb hosts who are using the platform to earn additional income and improve their daily lives, and the company continually publishes data touting how Airbnb helps hosts afford to stay in their own homes.
Most recently, the company said 54 percent of Airbnb hosts around the world are
