Does Government Have the Right To Say Airbnb is Illegal?

Is Airbnb an illegal business?  From the sounds coming out of New York City and other revenue hungry cities, the answer is a resounding “yes".  The attorney general of New York is going after Airbnb, as well as the “local” hosts who make their apartments available for travelers. 

Do they have that right?

I’m not a lawyer and I don’t profess to understand the various regulations that are imposed by the local governments in question.  What I do understand is individual rights and what this could mean to those rights.  

Should the government be regulating whether or not you can rent a room or an entire apartment if you, or your building, have no issue with that?   That’s really the question we should all be asking ourselves.

If the government can tell you what you can do with your own private real estate property, where does this end?  The last few years have seen more and more regulations introduced to dictate what you, or a business, can do.  Is this something you are comfortable with? 

Let’s take the hotel industry, an industry that isn’t happy about the Airbnb business model.  Does this new form of competition really impede their ability to operate, or does it mean they have to deliver more value to justify their cost? 

If they have to step up their offerings to meet the needs of this type of traveler, doesn’t that spell opportunity if they succeed?  I say level the playing field when it comes to tax collection for a particular revenue stream, but after that, let the consumer decide. 

Competition overall is healthy and anything that gets in the way of it is counter productive to what we are as a country.  When we started this site there were plenty of legacy players who wanted nothing more than to make sure we didn’t succeed. 

If some outside source made that possible, by stacking the deck against us, the travel industry would still be waiting a week to get their news.  Would that be good for the travel industry or the consumers they service?  

Airbnb stepped in and enabled local real estate owners to monetize their properties and offer short or long-term stays.  How is that different from VRBO or other vacation rental websites that have been around for years? 

Airbnb created a marketplace and discovered a new business that pairs travelers with accommodations.  The idea has taken off and Airbnb is now worth bilions of dollars.  Not bad for a business that is less than a decade old. 

No government policy should stand in the way of Airbnb’s ability to conduct business and help owners earn a buck.  Indeed, the government should be thrilled to tax the additional income that is being generated by this innovative concept and leave it at that.