There's a constitutional issue here; Airbnb seems to be heading to the High Court

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for your support on this issue. As you know, right at the heart of the problem with Airbnb is: What do we mean by property-ownership and what are those limits.

In an article in 'Wired' today, last month, in New York City in the USA, the City banned unauthorised Airbnb and from 22,500 properties listed in August, those 'authorised' in September was just over 400.  This has effectively driven PHoSTRA off 'policed' sites such as Airbnb and on to 'Classified' sites such as Craigslist etc. I doubt this will end well. And I would look to the courts for the burgeoning disputes that are about to arise, the City may be cynically considering that this consequential cost is worth the political capital of 'banning' PHoSTRA.  They may be right. But I don't think so. Those 22,000 properties that were garnering income via Airbnb are unlikely just to stop because of a City by-law.  I would not be surprised to see sometime soon a Class action against the City of New York, which may well end up at the US Supreme Court, who will have to define what property ownership means in the 21st Century.

Here in Australia, the (unfair and unwarranted) negative feelings toward Airbnb allow local Councils to rort the hosts in their LGAs. It has to stop. These Councils know they are playing a short game and that regulation is coming and so they're gouging while they can.  We can make that window of their opportunity as narrow as possible, please write to your local State MP and say 'enough is enough'.

Thanks again for your support, it is tremendously uplifting.

Cheer, 

Pip

PS: Can you have a guess what hotel prices have done in NYC in the last month? (You betcha they've gone up! Gets me to thinking...!)