GeekWire – Lawmakers and community groups call for federal action against Airbnb and HomeAway

October 13, 2016
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, lawmakers and community groups are asking the U.S. government to investigate how many Airbnb and HomeAway rentals are operating like hotels. They say it’s difficult to implement effective policy without concrete data on the impact these services have on cities. Legislators across the U.S. are voicing concerns about the meteoric rise of San Francisco-based Airbnb and HomeAway, which is owned by Bellevue, Wash.’s Expedia Inc. They claim a widespread trend in which property owners convert long-term housing into short-term rentals (STRs) to make more money. Cities including Seattle are trying to target hosts who operate their rentals like hotels to return long-term housing stock to the market and ease the affordability crunch….
Source: http://www.geekwire.com/2016/lawmakers-community-groups-call-federal-action-airbnb-homeaway/