It is no shocker that the hotel industry has had it in for Airbnb and the entire homesharing economy. However, the New York Times has recently obtained documents that solidify what many free market champions already know: Airbnb has caused an enormous disruption in the traditional hotel sector, and the established industry cartels are determined to regulate homesharing into oblivion.
The Hotel Industry’s attack on Airbnb is just getting started.
You think that business favors free enterprise. Think again. The biggest opponents of genuine competition turn out to be established business interests. They want a free market for themselves but regulation on anyone and anything that threatens their market position.
Regulatory Victories in Manhattan
Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed new regulations into law that sought to aggressively penalize Airbnb hosts who continued to list properties on the popular homesharing site thereafter. The American Hotel and Lodging Association applauded this market stumbling block as a “notable” accomplishment.
Unfortunately, the first casualties of these new regulations may not agree with the victorious sentiment of the prestigious hotel group, which includes such reputable hotels as Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels.
Hank Fried and Tatiana Cames were the first to be penalized for breaking the new restrictions and were fined a combined total of $17,000 for continuing to list properties online after the law had gone into effect.
Hotel moguls have been quick to publicly dismiss the threat Airbnb poses to the industry.
But the war on homesharing is likely to get a lot worse before it gets any better, and according to the New York Times documents, the attack on Airbnb is just getting started.
Dismissing the Competition
Hotel moguls have been quick to publicly dismiss the threat Airbnb poses to its industry, downplaying the company’s rising role in the short-term lodging market.
