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How Airbnb Bought a San Francisco Short-Term Rental Law, Lawsuit Alleges

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: Airbnb board member and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman contributed $600,000 to a political action committee supporting an Assembly campaign by the president of the San Francisco board of supervisors who sponsored the pro-Airbnb short-term rental law, HomeAway states.  Flickr.com / Joi Ito

Skift Take

Not that HomeAway isn't above doing these sorts of things, but Airbnb's lobbyists sure were adept at getting a seat at the table in San Francisco.

In its lawsuit against the City of San Francisco, short-term rental site HomeAway alleges that Airbnb board members Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Silicon Valley super-angel Ron Conway basically bought the good graces of the president of the San Francisco board of supervisors through $674,000 in contributions to a supportive political action committee. And Conway's wife, Gail Conway, chipped in another $49,000 to the same PAC supporting the California Assembly campaign of David Chiu, the board of supervisors president and the sponsor of the short-term rental law that goes into effect November 26, HomeAway alleges. Vacation rental leader HomeAway sued the city over the new short-term rental law, alleging  it was almost handwritten

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