New Yorkers Using Airbnb to Visit...New York

New York City co-op and condo boards are struggling to keep short-term – and illegal – apartment rentals from turning their buildings into hotels. Despite laws against advertisements for illegal sublets, plus a citywide crackdown, more than 2 million New Yorkers used Airbnb to travel last year, Crains reports. Their top destination? New York City. 

A new study from Airbnb found that New Yorkers using the site were most likely to book accommodations right here at home, beating out Los Angeles, Paris and Havana in the homebody sweepstakes. The motivations behind the stays were not included in the report, but city residents are likely using the service for mini-getaways within the five boroughs or to plug gaps between apartment leases, a spokesman says.

Whatever the reasons, Airbnb is using the data to bolster its argument that average New Yorkers benefit from the service, and should be allowed greater leeway to rent out rooms and apartments on a short-term basis. So far, the company's main argument has been that middle-class residents rent out rooms to make ends meet in an expensive city, where it's illegal to sublet an apartment for fewer than 30 days unless the owner is present. The new report is an effort to highlight additional benefits, though only about 120,000 city residents used Airbnb to stay here over the last year, representing just 8 percent of the total. Still, No. 1 is No. 1.

Airbnb is looking to turn the legislative tide in Albany by pushing a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, that would allow hosts to rent out their apartment for fewer than 30 days, provided they disclose additional information and pay taxes on the income.

The legislation is part of a pushback against extensive lobbying by the hotel industry to put a leash on Airbnb and other home-sharing services. Opponents of Lentol’s bill argue that home-sharing takes apartments off of the market and contributes to high housing costs. With that in mind, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law in 2016 that upped the fines for illegal sublets.

Bolstered by the new fines, the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement subsequently began cracking down on illegal hotels and Airbnb hosts in the city. Despite those efforts, a Crain's report this summer showed that New York listings on the site were not declining.