Airbnb

New York City begins crackdown on short-term rentals

Photo courtesy of baaelectronics on Flickr

September 5, 2023

New York City begins crackdown on short-term rentals

Could this be the end of Airbnb in New York City? The city on Tuesday officially kicked off enforcement of new regulations on short-term rentals, preventing property owners from renting their homes for less than 30 days unless registered and verified by the city. Hosts who fail to do so may face fines of up to $5,000, while Airbnb could face fines of up to $1,500 for transactions on unverified rentals.
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Policy

NYC delays enforcement of new Airbnb short-term rental rules

Photo via CC

June 13, 2023

NYC delays enforcement of new Airbnb short-term rental rules

By Aaron Ginsburg

Following a lawsuit filed this month by Airbnb, New York City will delay enforcing new restrictions limiting short-term rentals within the five boroughs. The Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) said it will not begin issuing fines to hosts until September 5, pushed back from a July start date, according to a court filing. The agency, which has already delayed the enactment of the new rules twice, currently has a staff vacancy rate of more than 50 percent, preventing it from effectively enforcing the law, as Gothamist reported.
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Policy

Airbnb sues New York City over rules on short-term rentals

Photo by Emiliano Bar on Unsplash

June 2, 2023

Airbnb sues New York City over rules on short-term rentals

By Aaron Ginsburg

Airbnb sued New York City on Thursday seeking to block new restrictions that limit short-term rentals within the five boroughs. The lawsuits, filed by Airbnb and three local hosts, target a 2021 law designed to prevent illegal short-term rentals by requiring Airbnb hosts to register with the city. The city plans to enforce the new restrictions, which Airbnb has called "extreme and oppressive," in July.
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Policy

March 8, 2023

These unique outer borough Airbnbs feel like getaways without leaving NYC

By Lidia Ryan

Kathleen Ruoti is a 73-year-old widow living on Staten Island. She started her Sweet Pea Cottage Airbnb six years ago to serve as supplemental income. "It’s a 100-year-old-old 'Hansel and Gretel' type thing — cute with a garden. I used to use it as an art studio," she said. The cottage is just one of a few short-term rental properties in New York City’s outer boroughs that not only make guests feel miles and miles away from the city but have charming stories and histories of their own. Ahead, take a look inside three unique short-term spots and hear from the owners.
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‘The Godfather’ mansion on Staten Island can be booked on Airbnb for the month of August

All photos courtesy of Marc McAndrews for Airbnb

July 18, 2022

‘The Godfather’ mansion on Staten Island can be booked on Airbnb for the month of August

By Devin Gannon

The Staten Island home that served as Don Corleone's residence in the 1972 classic film The Godfather is now available to rent on Airbnb. Located in the neighborhood of Todt Hill, the English Tudor-style mansion was featured in the movie's opening wedding scene. Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the iconic mob drama, the current owners are renting out the home for the month of August, for $50/night.
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Distinctive Homes

NYC sues illegal Airbnb operator who earned $2M and deceived thousands of guests since 2018

Photo Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 13, 2022

NYC sues illegal Airbnb operator who earned $2M and deceived thousands of guests since 2018

By Devin Gannon

New York City is suing an operator of an illegal short-term rental in Midtown East who officials say ran more than 78 Airbnb listings and "deceived more than 6,500 guests." According to the lawsuit, announced on Tuesday by Mayor Eric Adams, Arron Latimer, a licensed broker, Apex Management, and Esther Yip, used several limited liability corporations to run a short-term rental operation at 344 East 51st Street in Turtle Bay. The lawsuit is the first under a new city law that requires short-term rental platforms to regularly report data on listings and their hosts.
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Policy

Book a stay at Carrie Bradshaw’s iconic NYC brownstone apartment for $23/night

All photos by Kate Glicksberg unless otherwise noted

November 5, 2021

Book a stay at Carrie Bradshaw’s iconic NYC brownstone apartment for $23/night

By Devin Gannon

The too-big-to-be-true rent-stabilized apartment of fictional character Carrie Bradshaw will soon be available to book on Airbnb. The company announced this week it will rent, for two nights only, a recreation of the New York City brownstone seen on Sex and the City. The apartment has been decorated with a mix of vintage and designer furniture, with the style guru's massive walk-in closet the highlight of the stay.
Details here

July 1, 2021

The Mets and Airbnb team up to offer baseball fans an overnight stay at Citi Field

By Devin Gannon

For baseball fans, this Airbnb stay is pretty Amazin'. The New York Mets and Airbnb are teaming up to offer a one-night stay for four at Citi Field this month for $250. Not only does the promotion include a once-in-a-lifetime sleepover, but the winning guests will also get a VIP private suite to watch two games and throw out the first pitch during one of them.
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Events & Things To Do

Hamilton Heights brownstone from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ can be booked on Airbnb for $20/night

All photos courtesy of Regina Fleming Photography

May 19, 2021

Hamilton Heights brownstone from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ can be booked on Airbnb for $20/night

By Devin Gannon

Last week, the Hamilton Heights house made famous in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums hit the rental market for $20,000 per month. This week, Airbnb announced the iconic mansion will be available to book this Memorial Day Weekend for just $20 per night. Bookings will open on May 26 at noon for one, two-night stay at the 1899 brownstone beginning May 29.
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This Adirondacks treehouse was the year’s most popular Airbnb rental for New Yorkers

All photos courtesy of Airbnb

January 13, 2021

This Adirondacks treehouse was the year’s most popular Airbnb rental for New Yorkers

By Dana Schulz

To wrap up 2020, Airbnb released the top 50 most wish-listed unique rentals across all 50 states. The properties range from an Alaskan log cabin under the Northern Lights to a pirate-themed cottage in California. Here in New York, those looking to get away were most taken with a luxury treehouse in the Adirondacks, complete with a cable bridge, outdoor fire pit, and waterfall. The property in the town of Remsen rents for $498 a night, but it's booked solid through March 2022!
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Getting Away

Airbnb contest seeks world’s most outrageous home designs

By Devin Gannon

Airbnb is searching for the world's most unique and unusual short-term rental home as part of a new contest. Ten people will be awarded $100,000 each to design a groundbreaking home that is both livable and a space for social good, the company announced on Tuesday. Proposals can include renovations to an existing Airbnb property, a project in progress that needs funding, or a totally unbuilt project.
More details here

$90/night Chelsea listing on Airbnb turns the spotlight on NYCHA housing

Queensbridge Houses. Photo credit: Metro Centric via Wikimedia Commons

November 11, 2019

$90/night Chelsea listing on Airbnb turns the spotlight on NYCHA housing

By Michelle Cohen

The New York Times recently told of a pair of visitors from Boston who signed up for a sweet Airbnb deal on a Chelsea pad for $90 a night–and were surprised to have it turn out to be a seventh-floor unit in the neighborhood's 11-building NYCHA Fulton Houses complex. The would-be guests noticed that "something seemed off," starting with the roach trap next to the bed. The travelers tipped off the company, who refunded their money, and their story quickly became internet history as yet another way homestay platforms are being taken advantage of and another log on the fire of the debate that rages over what to do about it.
Airb-n-beware?

Jersey City vote to curb short-term rentals could mean trouble for Airbnb

The Jersey City waterfront, via Pixabay

November 6, 2019

Jersey City vote to curb short-term rentals could mean trouble for Airbnb

By Michelle Cohen

The Jersey City waterfront, via Pixabay A big-money battle between Airbnb and the hotel industry may leave small hosts stranded after a decisive vote in Jersey City Tuesday. Voters in New Jersey's second-largest city faced a referendum on new, beefed-up regulations on short-term rentals intended to limit the reach of Airbnb and other home-stay companies. According to the New York Times, voters overwhelmingly decided in favor of a law that will require owners of short-term rental properties to get a permit from the city, put a cap on the size and number of units that can be used for short term rental purposes, and limit short-stay rentals to a maximum of 60 days a year if the owner is not physically on-site. The ordinance also bars all renters from using their units as short-term rentals.
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Policy

City sues landlords for listing rent-stabilized Hell’s Kitchen apartments on Airbnb

412 West 46th Street. Image via Google Street View.

August 16, 2019

City sues landlords for listing rent-stabilized Hell’s Kitchen apartments on Airbnb

By Michelle Cohen

. The city has named the owners of three Hell's Kitchen buildings in a lawsuit filed this week in Manhattan Supreme Court for operating illegal short-term rentals in rent-stabilized apartments, the New York Observer reports. The city says the owners of 410 and 412 West 46th Street and 452 West 36th Street have neglected their buildings, harassed tenants to get them to move out, deregulated units and kept units vacant to rent out on a short-term basis. Tenants of one building were left without gas or a roof for six months in 2015 due to a fire; the other two are awash in building code violations.
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Policy

New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

Image via CC.

August 13, 2019

New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

By Michelle Cohen

New York City could make hostels legal under a bill, set to be introduced this week in the City Council, that would permit the super-budget accommodations to operate again after a state law made them illegal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill would provide hostels with their own separate department and classification under city law. The city's hostels all but disappeared after a 2010 law covering multiple dwellings took aim at short-term rentals.
Will hostels thrive in the Airbnb era?

August 7, 2019

Asking $1M, this sweet Connecticut ‘Mouse House’ cottage is just a whisker from the beach

By Michelle Cohen

This adorable cottage, dubbed “The Mouse House” with a plaque on the front gate, is steps from coveted Campo Beach in Westport, Connecticut. Asking $999,000, the 1,229 square-foot four-bedroom home has been a popular Airbnb listing. It has literary cred as well: The current owner is a bestselling novelist.
Beach house tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

Rockefeller Center office tower will be converted into Airbnb rentals

75 Rockefeller Plaza via Google Street View

April 29, 2019

Rockefeller Center office tower will be converted into Airbnb rentals

By Devin Gannon

Ten floors of an office tower in Rockefeller Center will be converted into short-term rentals, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. RXR Realty, which has leased the tower at 75 Rockefeller Plaza since 2012, has partnered with Airbnb to transform a portion of the 87-year-old building into roughly 200 units of high-end lodging. In a press release, RXR CEO Scott Rechler described the new venture as a "travel experience that immerses guests in a dynamic, thriving community in the heart of Rockefeller Center that's vastly different than anything else in the market today."
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Gearing up for summer, Jersey Shore homeowners are fighting Airbnb tax on short-term rentals

Asbury Park, NJ; via Wikimedia

March 12, 2019

Gearing up for summer, Jersey Shore homeowners are fighting Airbnb tax on short-term rentals

By Devin Gannon

A surcharge on short-term rentals took effect last October in New Jersey, making it one of the first big states to implement such a tax. An 11.6 percent tax, dubbed the "Airbnb tax," applies to properties rented for fewer than 90 days made on home-sharing sites or directly between a renter and homeowner, excluding deals arranged through a broker. But as homeowners gear up for the summer season in the coming months, owners of Jersey Shore rental homes say the tax has made it harder to fully book their properties ahead of beach season, the New York Times reported.
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Judge blocks NYC law that forces Airbnb to disclose names and addresses of hosts

Via Creative Commons

January 3, 2019

Judge blocks NYC law that forces Airbnb to disclose names and addresses of hosts

By Devin Gannon

In a win for Airbnb, a federal judge on Thursday blocked a New York City law aimed at curbing illegal short-term rentals, the New York Times reported. The law, signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last August and originally expected to take effect in February, would have required Airbnb and similar home-share companies to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement monthly. Soon after, Airbnb filed a lawsuit against the city claiming an "extraordinary act of government overreach." U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the company's request for a temporary injunction against the law, which he wrote was likely unconstitutional.
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Policy

December 10, 2018

This Hudson carriage house, featured on Netflix, could be your upstate getaway for $325 a night

By Michelle Cohen

Hudson, NY, is the place to head these days for a picture-perfect out-of-the-city weekend. Filled with fabulous restaurants, chic shops and darling dive bars, the Columbia County town's mix of sophistication and small-town life hits just the right note. If you've dreamed of moving there and fixing up a quaint townhouse, you can live vicariously for a few nights–at $325 each, via Airbnb–at this charming carriage house. Featured on the Netflix renovation show, "Stay Here," The Hudson River Carriage House is just a half block from the Warren Street main drag, but it's so cute you may just want to stay in.
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November 28, 2018

Spend a winter weekend in this boho-chic Hudson Valley cabin for $200/night

By Michelle Cohen

Located in the quaint-but-cool town of Tivoli, NY, about 100 miles from New York City in the Hudson River Valley near Bard College, this two-bedroom cabin, listed on Airbnb for $200 a night, has a Scandi-modern vibe, decor that reflects the hosts' travels and eclectic past and plenty of creature comforts. The home's friendly hosts call it a "cozy den," which sounds about right–perfect for families, friends or couples.
More cabin coolness, this way

Airbnb sues NYC over new law mandating disclosure of host data

Photo via Airbnb

August 27, 2018

Airbnb sues NYC over new law mandating disclosure of host data

By Devin Gannon

Airbnb filed a lawsuit against New York City on Friday, following the passage of a law that requires the website to disclose the names and addresses of hosts. The lawsuit claims the new law is an "extraordinary act of government overreach" and violates the U.S. Constitution. The new law, passed by the City Council last month, makes it easier for the city to regulate illegal units, or apartments rented for less than 30 days without the permanent tenant present.
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Policy

To make political statement in Albany, Airbnb donates $10M to local nonprofits

Via CC

August 15, 2018

To make political statement in Albany, Airbnb donates $10M to local nonprofits

By Devin Gannon

Airbnb announced on Wednesday it will donate $10 million to a select group of nonprofit organizations as a way to highlight a bill pending in New York State Legislature that would allow the company to collect taxes from its guests. According to Airbnb, the $10 million represents one-tenth of the projected tax revenue it could generate if the legislation is approved by state lawmakers. The initiative, called "A Fair Share," comes a week after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a bill that requires Airbnb to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts, as a way to crack down on illegal listings.
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Policy

Via CityRealty

August 7, 2018

De Blasio signs bill forcing Airbnb to disclose names and addresses of hosts

By Devin Gannon

Update 8/7/18: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed into law a bill that cracks down on the number of illegal Airbnb listings in New York City. Taking effect in February 2019, the new law requires the company to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts. The information will be turned over to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. The New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that requires Airbnb and other home-sharing sites to provide the names and addresses of its hosts to the city. Under state law, it remains illegal in most buildings to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days unless the permanent tenant is there. Just hours before the council unanimously voted for this legislation, an Airbnb host from Brooklyn, Stanley Karol, sued the city in federal court for fining him $30,000 after speaking out against the bill. "I believe that the City has sought to silence me, by not only saddling me with massive fines, but also making me feel unsafe in my own home," Karol said.
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May 25, 2018

Go camping among the trees in this $195/night treehouse in Upstate New York

By Devin Gannon

Trade the racket of cars honking and music blaring, for the blissful sounds of whispering wind and singing birds at this charming airbnb getaway in Upstate New York. Not only is this rental off-the-grid (there is no WiFi or electricity), it's located in an actual treehouse. What the pad lacks in modern convenience, it makes up for in rustic charm and natural ambience. Located in the rural Upstate neighborhood of Argyle, the treehouse, called the Whispering Wind Treehouse on its listing, can accommodate two guests in its one bedroom, starting at $195 per night.
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