Brian Chesky also claimed that the Big Apple is no longer seen as a “leading city” in terms of accommodations
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky predicts an increase in the costs of staying in New York hotels as a result of new regulations implemented for vacation rental bookings. The effects of these measures, passed in September, will become apparent over the course of the next year, he said during a panel at the Skift Global Forum in the same city.
These regulations force hosts to register their postings with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement and booking platforms, such as Airbnb, to ban any unregistered listings. They also limit stays to 30 days.
“A year from now, my prediction is that hotel prices will be higher than they are today and rents will also be higher. I think that’s unfortunate because it will be a little less affordable,” the company’s CEO said at the event.
Chesky warned about the negative consequences for New Yorkers who rely on Airbnb to pay their rent or mortgage. He added that travelers who book with an unregistered host will see their reservation canceled as of December 1 this year. Unregistered hosts could also face fines of up to USD 5,000, while the platform could be fined USD 1,500 for each transaction made.
The entrepreneur indicated that Airbnb no longer sees New York as a leader in terms of accommodation, although there was a time when the city accounted for the majority of its business. Instead, he highlights Paris, where the company has its largest presence, as a benchmark, with a 120-night limitation on listings.
Despite these difficulties in the Big Apple, Chesky remarked that his company need not be seen as a direct competitor to hotels as both offer lodging options for travelers that naturally overlap. He emphasized that Airbnb enables travel for large numbers of people who previously did not, especially groups of friends and families looking for longer stays.
He also revealed that half of the nights booked on Airbnb correspond to stays of more than a week, and 80% of bookings on the platform involve more than two people traveling together.
Finally, the CEO suggested that hotel industry lobbyists may have influenced these new regulations, although he refrained from pointing them out directly. He added that Airbnb’s restrictions represent only part of the cause of hotel price hikes in recent weeks, and that events such as New York Fashion Week, the US Open and the United Nations General Assembly have also contributed to this rise.