Tenants of New Airbnb-Branded Complex in Florida Feel Blindsided


Skift Take

It's one thing to know when you're signing a lease that your apartment building will serve as a de facto Airbnb hotel. It's another to be "blindsided" months later after you've already made it your home.

The developer behind Niido Powered by Airbnb is gearing up in just a few weeks to open the first location of its Airbnb-friendly apartment-hotel complex in Kissimmee, Florida, near Orlando. But before it does, Miami-based Newgard Development Group has an important challenge to overcome: convincing the complex's current tenants that they want to "live a life worth sharing," as publicized on Niido's website. That's because Newgard has failed to properly disclose to residents of Domain Apartments that it is set to become the first Niido Powered by Airbnb location until very recently, according to residents of the complex. Niido and Newgard CEO Harvey Hernandez and co-founder and chief marketing officer Cindy Diffenderfer declined to confirm whether Domain Apartments would become the first of four planned Niido Powered by Airbnb complexes they plan to open throughout the southeastern U.S. But given recent news reports, resident accounts, and postings on the official Facebook page