Can Airbnb’s Lobbying Millions Take Down NYC’s Housing Crackdown?

Airbnb and NYC are at it again, duking it out in what feels like the Tyson vs. Holyfield of housing fights. 

On one side, we’ve got Gotham City’s new short-term rental rules, which make hosting a weekend guest harder than sneaking a wine bottle past TSA. On the other? Airbnb, armed with $5 million in lobbying money, trying to convince the Big Apple to chill out and let people rent their closets for profit.

Back in September 2023, NYC decided to “fix” its housing crisis by pulling the emergency brake on short-term rentals. New rules require hosts to stay onsite (yes, as in awkwardly bunking with your guests) and limit rentals to two guests max. This resulted in Airbnb’s NYC listings falling off a cliff… down 80% in less than a year.

While Airbnb’s revenue took a hit, hotels felt like they hit the lottery. The average hotel room in NYC hit a record $417 a night in September. Guess the days of “affordable weekend getaways” are officially over unless you’ve got a rich aunt with a spare futon.

But Airbnb isn’t rolling over. It’s spending $5 million to back politicians who love home-sharing and hate hotel price-gouging. The company’s also pushing new laws to loosen NYC’s rental chokehold. Their dream scenario would be to let hosts rent out their homes without playing full-time camp counselor and upping the guest cap to four adults… because sometimes people actually travel in groups larger than two (shocker).

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Airbnb has been here before. Remember when San Francisco tried to drop the hammer on short-term rentals in 2015? Airbnb threw $8 million at the problem and won. They’re now hoping NYC’s lawmakers will also fold.

Competitors like Expedia’s Vrbo are in the mix, too, ramping up their lobbying budgets by 60% last year. Turns out, influencing politicians is the ultimate pay-to-play move… crypto spent $130 million on lobbying in 2024, so Airbnb’s $5M is nothing for Nancy and her gang to get excited about (pump those rookie numbers up).

NYC, however, says these rules aren’t just red tape for the sake of red tape. Officials claim short-term rentals jack up housing costs, wreck neighborhood vibes, and allow shady landlords to run illegal, overpriced flophouses. 

But Airbnb’s calling nonsense on that logic. They argue rents are still rising, hotel prices are ridiculous, and cutting short-term rentals has done squat to actually increase housing supply. In their view, the only thing NYC has achieved is turning away budget-conscious travelers… and forcing tourists to splurge on $20 salads and $40 Broadway matinees instead.

Sure, NYC only makes up about 1% of Airbnb’s global revenue, but if the city’s rules stick, other places might follow suit. Barcelona, for example, is already planning to ban short-term rentals entirely by 2029. Airbnb can’t afford to let the anti-rental wave grow into a tsunami… time to up the lobbying game or risk being left out in the cold.

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Stocks.News has positions in Airbnb and Expedia mentioned in article.