Airbnb facing backlash in its hometown of San Francisco

On November 3, the city of San Francisco will vote on Airbnb's short-term home-sharing, with both opponents and supporters claiming they have the answer for the city's housing crisis. 

|
Robert Galbraith/Reuters/File
The skyline of San Francisco, California is framed by the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset in this 2008 file photo.

The popular traveler site Airbnb is facing opposition in its hometown.  

Proposition F on the Nov. 3 San Francisco ballot would require hosting companies, such as Airbnb, to limit short-term rentals by homeowners to only 75 days a year. This measure would represent a big change from the current system, where some homeowners are turning their properties into exclusively short-term rentals. 

In what used to be a win-win for landlords and vacationers, a shrinking housing market in San Francisco has since created tension between the home sharing site and local homeowners. 

“We have the worst housing crunch this city has suffered since the 1906 earthquake – we cannot build housing fast enough,” Dale Carlson, a San Francisco media consultant and author of the proposition, told The Wall Street Journal. “So to lose housing units for tourist accommodations – it is just insanity.”

But Airbnb also says they are serving San Francisco’s best interests by raising $12 million for the city in hotel taxes. Opponents of Proposition F also argue that homeowners ought to be at liberty to do what they want with their own property, and that Airbnb has actually helped them stay afloat in the expensive San Francisco area.

“This initiative, at the end of the day, is an attack on the middle class of San Francisco, who share their homes to help make ends meet,” Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s head of global policy and public affairs, told The Wall Street Journal. “Home-sharing in this city is a lifeline for thousands. 

Supporters of Mr. Carlson’s perspective say the online home-sharing process is removing much needed affordable housing options from the city. Average asking rent for a studio apartment in the city is $2,828 a month according to RealFacts, a real estate data company.

But those agreeing with Mr. Lehane and Airbnb, say short-term rentals provide homeowners with much needed income and more visitors to San Francisco contribute tourism revenue and tax dollars. According to Land Econ Group, Airbnb visitors  generated more than $460 million to the city alone.

“This is definitely a fight that representative of the anxiety that exists here due to an economy that’s been so dynamic,” Sam Lauter, a San Francisco lobbyist, told the Associated Press. 

To defend themselves against Proposition F supporters, Airbnb installed throughout the city ads that some characterized as "passive aggressive." But the company immediately got backlash from the public and even its own employees. Some examples of the ads include, “Dear Recreation and Parks, We hope some of the $12 million in hotel taxes keeps this park clean. Love, Airbnb,” and “Dear Public Works, We hope you use some of the $12 million in hotel taxes to build a bike lane here. Love, Airbnb.”

After the criticism Airbnb received, the company has been issuing incessant apologies. “The intent was to show the hotel tax contribution from our hosts and guests, which is roughly $1 million per month,” Christopher Nulty, the company’s spokesman, said in a statement. “It was the wrong tone and we apologize to anyone who was offended. These ads are being taking down immediately.”

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Airbnb facing backlash in its hometown of San Francisco
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1025/Airbnb-facing-backlash-in-its-hometown-of-San-Francisco
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe