AH&LA Calls For Regulation of Airbnbs In Chicago

Since its launch in 2007 Airbnb’s influence over the hotel industry has grown in practically every major city worldwide. And while the hotel industry has always been open to competition, some are arguing now that the playing field isn’t level. 

On a conference call on Tuesday, representatives from the American Hotel & Lodging Association called for full-time Airbnb hosts to be put through the same regulations as the city’s hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.  

Senior vice president of government affairs Vanessa Sinders said that even though “competition is a hallmark of our industry,” unfair competition is not.  “Everyone in our industry plays by the same rules, [but] the rules of the road are no longer the same.”  

According to the group, Airbnb is hardly just the “home sharing” company it was originally meant to be. Professional “full-time” landlords who rent their property more than 360 days per year are responsible for 26% of Airbnb’s $1.3 billion in revenue. That number is even higher in Miami (62.1%), Los Angeles (30.4%), and San Francisco (32.1%).  

“Home sharing and occasional home rentals have been going on for decades, we support that,” said Sinders, but “Airbnb revenue is coming from commercial operators [who] rent out multiple properties just like a hotel without operating by hotel rules.”  

In Chicago, full-time hosts are responsible for 24.6% of Airbnb revenue, less than the national average but still a significant number. “To me this is really about everybody playing by the same rules,” said Kapra Fleming, owner of the House of Two Urns BnB in Chicago’s Wicker Park. “This isn’t about stopping home sharing, we have no issues with occasional home sharing.” 

Chicago’s Vacation Rental Ordinance, passed in 2011, requires owners of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rentals to have a license, and helps regulate and tax them, in the public interest. But air Airbnb landlords, even those who rent out a space all year, don’t have to worry about licensing or taxing.  “What we really need are equal rules and equal enforcement of the rules,” said Fleming.

“There’s a big difference between operating above board versus leveraging new technology to bypass laws and regulations designed to make consumers safe,” said Marc Gordon, president & CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association.