Air B&B settles its lawsuit with New York City. New York City passed a law that will fine people for advertising their apartments for less than a 30-day stay. Air B&B dropped the suit when NYC agreed not to fine Air B&B. NYC will still fine the hosts who publish the apartments.
Are the renters better off or worse off? Are those who desire to rent better off or worse off?
Airbnb has capitulated to the demands of lawmakers over its operations in New York City, the company’s largest market in the United States, agreeing to drop a lawsuit in which it was pushing back against a newly passed state law that it said could have hurt its business.
The short-term home rental service on Friday settled the lawsuit that it filed against New York City two months ago. The suit challenged a New York law that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed in October. That law called for fines of as much as $7,500 for illegally listing a property on a rental platform such as Airbnb.
The company had said the large fines could have deterred hosts and impaired its revenue in New York City. Hosts in the city generated about $1 billion in revenue last year, and the company took a cut of that in fees.
But Airbnb on Friday agreed that it would drop the suit as long as New York City enforces the new law only against hosts and does not fine Airbnb. The settlement takes effect on Monday.