Airbnb: the hotel industry does not allow the average family to earn on the delivery of housing

Representatives of the hotel business are now actively fighting the services of short-term rental housing. Most of the efforts of the traditional "hotel workers" spend on the confrontation with the service Airbnb, as described in detail in this article . In the US, companies that are part of the hotel industry are now lobbying their interests, trying to impose legal restrictions against short-term rental of residential premises. And they succeed. At least in New York, it has already been banned to rent housing for less than a month. Violators of the law "shines" quite a large fine of several thousand dollars.

But the hotel business does not stop at what has been accomplished: its representatives are trying to convince senators, congressmen, politicians and officials of a regional scale to be right. At the disposal of the traditional industry, many billions of dollars and close contacts with the powers that be. But Airbnb cannot be called a weak player. The company, realizing what was going on, began to actively confront competitors, telling in the course of the struggle about their own actions and the work of their opponents. One of these days, Airbnb executive Christopher Lian (Christopher Lehane) called the actions of hoteliers of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) “a campaign against the middle class”.

On the activities of the union of companies that are included in this association, the newspaper told The New York Times. The agenda of the meeting of the heads of organizations representing AHLA, where a number of interesting details came to light, including the plan to counter Airbnb in a number of major US cities, fell into the hands of journalists of the publication. For example, the Association plans to support in the elections those candidates who express a desire to cooperate with hoteliers.
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In AHLA, their actions are considered logical: “AHLA is a trade association with a clear goal and mission to protect the interests of the hotel industry and its millions of employees.” The organization’s spokeswoman, Rosanna Marietta, said: “It’s not surprising that AHLA’s representatives rallied ... to achieve a common goal: to protect communities and travelers from entrepreneurs who use sites like Airbnb to create underground hotels in apartment buildings, ignoring common sense and laws that the hotel business must obey. ” "Airbnb works in the hotel business, but does not play by the same rules," said Troy Flanegan, vice president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

According to Airbnb, hoteliers hurt the middle class with their actions: “We are far from thinking that middle-class families who rent out their homes for the duration of their own travels cannot conduct their business.” According to Airbnb, the company does not agree with the opinion that on the company's website most of the apartments and home are rented by companies that specialize in short-term rentals, and not private individuals.

In turn, representatives of the AHLA say that they are not against people renting out their apartments and houses. But the hotel business agrees with this option only if the owner stays in the house or apartment during the guest’s stay.

An open letter to the Arbnb AHLA states the following: “The leakage of documents and the media made it clear that the American Hotel and Lodging Association supports, in particular,“ the rights of homeowners to rent rooms in their housing ”. Yesterday, your press secretary told the media that “we support the practice when the owner of the property is present during the guests' stay”. These statements are controversial and raise the question of the integrity of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. ”



According to Airbnb, AHLA opposes the fact that the average family during their own holidays could rent out their homes and make some money. In addition, the service claims that it works absolutely transparently, providing all the necessary information about its partners and communities in different regions. But the hotel business is closed, without providing details about pricing and some other points in their work.

The letter ends with the following sentence: “As we maintain a constructive discussion on home renting, it is crucial to know your position regarding the main points, as well as detailed information about the hotels that fund your campaign.”