New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a bill that will levy heavy fines (up to $7,500) on Airbnb hosts who do not abide by local housing regulations.

Hours after, Airbnb filed a federal lawsuit claiming “irreparable harm.”

However, they also proposed a 5 point plan that they hope will make home-sharing work in New York City and then serve as a framework for new legislation.

Here are Airbnb’s 5 points (summarized by me):

1. One host, one home: Just like it sounds, this would limit people to renting a single home within the five boroughs.
   

2. Require registration: State would require short-term rental hosts to register. Airbnb would be authorized to register people on behalf of the state.
   

3. Make home-sharing work for all: Landlords would be able to set specific rules for short-term rentals in their buildings and then secure a portion of the revenue for maintenance and so on. (I would imagine that the same could be done by condo corporations.)
   

4. Good neighbor rules: Platforms would be required to have dedicated 24/7 hotlines should any neighbor complaints arise as a result of home-sharing.
   

5. Taxes to support affordable housing: Airbnb would collect and remit additional taxes on behalf of hosts, which could then be used for things such as affordable housing.
   

It’s interesting to think about Airbnb’s evolution. It started out as air mattress rentals on the floor and nobody thought it would ever work as a business. Now it’s a huge business and governments everywhere are trying to figure out an appropriate response. Hopefully a suitable middle ground will be found.

How do you feel about Airbnb’s proposed 5 point plan? With this framework, would you be comfortable with Airbnb in your building? I know that many of you are also hosts (some of you do it for a living), so I would be curious to hear your thoughts.

This morning venture capitalist Fred Wilson wrote a post on his blog talking about the gig economy and Hillary Clinton’s economic speech last night. 

Here’s a snippet from Clinton’s talk:

Meanwhile, many Americans are making extra money renting out a small room, designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home, or even driving their own car. This on-demand, or so-called gig economy is creating exciting economies and unleashing innovation.

But it is also raising hard questions about work-place protections and what a good job will look like in the future.

So, all of these trends are real and none, none is going away. But they do not determine our destiny. The choices we make as a nation matter. And the choices we make in the years ahead will set the stage for what American life in the middle class and our economy will be like in this century.

The headlines this morning are making it seem like Hillary Clinton is taking direct aim at companies like Uber. But the transcript suggests that she’s being far more balanced than that: these new companies are creating exciting opportunities, and they are not going away, but there are still things to figure out.

That’s basically how I feel.

Take, for example, Airbnb. I think Airbnb is a great idea and company. A lot of my friends use it both as consumers and as suppliers of space.

But for many (most?) condos in Toronto, owners are strictly prohibited from renting out their units on leases that are less than six months. It’s a direct ban on short-term leasing and it’s written into the Condo Corporation’s Declaration.

And there’s good reason for that. Who wants to buy a condo only to find out that next door is being operated as a nightly hotel? Most people would even prefer that their neighbor is an owner rather than a renter.

That doesn’t mean I believe Airbnb should not exist. I think we’ll likely end up getting more transparent about how buildings (and portion of buildings) are operating, as opposed to it being a shadow economy. And that could help.

If you have any ideas for how companies like Airbnb might be better integrated into urban life, I would love to hear from you in the comment section below.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a bill that will levy heavy fines (up to $7,500) on Airbnb hosts who do not abide by local housing regulations.

Hours after, Airbnb filed a federal lawsuit claiming “irreparable harm.”

However, they also proposed a 5 point plan that they hope will make home-sharing work in New York City and then serve as a framework for new legislation.

Here are Airbnb’s 5 points (summarized by me):

1. One host, one home: Just like it sounds, this would limit people to renting a single home within the five boroughs.
   

2. Require registration: State would require short-term rental hosts to register. Airbnb would be authorized to register people on behalf of the state.
   

3. Make home-sharing work for all: Landlords would be able to set specific rules for short-term rentals in their buildings and then secure a portion of the revenue for maintenance and so on. (I would imagine that the same could be done by condo corporations.)
   

4. Good neighbor rules: Platforms would be required to have dedicated 24/7 hotlines should any neighbor complaints arise as a result of home-sharing.
   

5. Taxes to support affordable housing: Airbnb would collect and remit additional taxes on behalf of hosts, which could then be used for things such as affordable housing.
   

It’s interesting to think about Airbnb’s evolution. It started out as air mattress rentals on the floor and nobody thought it would ever work as a business. Now it’s a huge business and governments everywhere are trying to figure out an appropriate response. Hopefully a suitable middle ground will be found.

How do you feel about Airbnb’s proposed 5 point plan? With this framework, would you be comfortable with Airbnb in your building? I know that many of you are also hosts (some of you do it for a living), so I would be curious to hear your thoughts.

This morning venture capitalist Fred Wilson wrote a post on his blog talking about the gig economy and Hillary Clinton’s economic speech last night. 

Here’s a snippet from Clinton’s talk:

Meanwhile, many Americans are making extra money renting out a small room, designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home, or even driving their own car. This on-demand, or so-called gig economy is creating exciting economies and unleashing innovation.

But it is also raising hard questions about work-place protections and what a good job will look like in the future.

So, all of these trends are real and none, none is going away. But they do not determine our destiny. The choices we make as a nation matter. And the choices we make in the years ahead will set the stage for what American life in the middle class and our economy will be like in this century.

The headlines this morning are making it seem like Hillary Clinton is taking direct aim at companies like Uber. But the transcript suggests that she’s being far more balanced than that: these new companies are creating exciting opportunities, and they are not going away, but there are still things to figure out.

That’s basically how I feel.

Take, for example, Airbnb. I think Airbnb is a great idea and company. A lot of my friends use it both as consumers and as suppliers of space.

But for many (most?) condos in Toronto, owners are strictly prohibited from renting out their units on leases that are less than six months. It’s a direct ban on short-term leasing and it’s written into the Condo Corporation’s Declaration.

And there’s good reason for that. Who wants to buy a condo only to find out that next door is being operated as a nightly hotel? Most people would even prefer that their neighbor is an owner rather than a renter.

That doesn’t mean I believe Airbnb should not exist. I think we’ll likely end up getting more transparent about how buildings (and portion of buildings) are operating, as opposed to it being a shadow economy. And that could help.

If you have any ideas for how companies like Airbnb might be better integrated into urban life, I would love to hear from you in the comment section below.