From New York City to Edinburgh to Melbourne, the global campaign against Airbnb is intensifying.
Co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said these conversations around the regulation of Airbnb are “inevitable with success”.“Our stakeholders aren’t just the guests and hosts and employees and investors. They’re also the communities in which you operate. Our perspective has always been to try to work in cooperation with those communities. To find compromise, to find the middle ground,” he said. “With any industry that becomes significant, there needs to be rules. But it’s challenging at a global scale.
In June, 2023, authorities in Florence said they were looking to ban all residential properties in its historic centre from being listed on platforms like Airbnb, in a move to make more homes for locals in the city. In a proposal dubbed “save historic centres”, Mayor Dario Nardella plans to ban any new short-term rental contracts, and to offer tax breaks to encourage permanent residents to buy properties in the city centre.
Melbourne is looking to take action against Airbnb, too, amid concerns that the rise in popularity of short-term accommodation is forcing locals out of the area. On Friday,