This Is War: New York Housing Advocates, Hotels and Airbnb Fight to Define Narrative

Friday morning in New York City, affordable housing advocates rallied in front of city hall to combat "illegal hotels," which they say take away stock from the housing supply. The group, which is calling itself the #ShareBetter Coalition and includes dozens of local politicians, identifies short-term rental site Airbnb as a primary opponent.

Airbnb, however, says the campaign is the work of the hotel industry.

See also: Landlord Sues New York Artist for Renting Out Apartment on Airbnb

"Some in the hotel industry are launching a campaign to try and stop home sharing in New York," Airbnb's Marc Pomeranc wrote in a blog post Friday. "Media reports indicate that some misinformed hotels are willing to spend millions of dollars because they don’t think regular New Yorkers should be able to share the home in which they live." Read more...

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