USA: Airbnb Is A Friend, Not Foe For Cities

In A speech that made veiled reference to the company's narrow victory in San Francisco last week, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said one of his top priorities is to make cities Airbnb's ally and clear up its image, which he described as unfairly misunderstood.

At the annual Airbnb Open conference in Paris, Chesky told a crowd of 5,000 hosts and enthusiastic disciples of the home-sharing service that the company's strategic priority will be to strike partnerships with cities and policy makers to help its network of hosts who, collectively, have housed 60 million guests around the world since its inception in 2008.

Airbnb is often "misunderstood" and sometimes attacked, he said, even by the allies that stand to benefit the most from home-sharing: cities.

"How can you succeed as a host if you don't even feel like you belong in your city?" Chesky said.

Last week, a proposition that would have placed stricter measures on short-term vacation rentals in San Francisco, the birthplace of Airbnb, was rejected in a vote split 55% to 45%.

Critics charge the arrival of the home-sharing site is exacerbating a housing crisis in the city, with property owners taking traditional homes off the market and turning them into short-term vacation rentals, driving a housing shortage and pushing lower- and middle-income families out of San Francisco.

Airbnb is also accused of competing unfairly with the hotel industry, which faces stricter regulations and taxes.

But in a ra-ra speech to the 5,000 hosts from 110 countries gathered at the conference in Paris, Chesky said the company has outlined three measures to bring cities on board and demystify their modus operandi, which include the collection of tourist and hotel taxes; the sharing of information and data; and its commitment to affordable housing.

"Affordable housing is in the roots of our company," he said, referring the genesis of Airbnb, when he and co-founder Joe Gebbia opened up their home to strangers to make rent.

"We don't want to be part of the problem. We think we are and continue to be part of the solution."

Chesky also described the home-sharing service as an alternative to "mass-produced hospitality."

Perhaps one of the most compelling examples Airbnb used to illustrate its point was the story of Julia and Silvio Ortega, one of the first to sign up to the service when Airbnb launched in Cuba this year following the normalisation of relations between the US and Cuba.

"Joining Airbnb has been a game-changer," said wife Julia.

Airbnb Open opened Thursday and wraps up Saturday.