HomeAway threatens suit over Airbnb proposal for N.Y.
Airbnb's already convoluted battle with New York over the legality of its rentals here just got more complex.
Airbnb competitor HomeAway, the owner of VacationRentals.com and VRBO, said it will likely sue New York if the Empire State adopts Airbnb's proposal to allow people to rent out their primary residences for less than 30 days.
"We would probably take legal action if they wrote such a restrictive law," Carl Shepherd, co-founder of HomeAway, which also owns VRBO.com, told USA TODAY.
Airbnb's proposal, presented to New York lawmakers last week, is the San Francisco start-up's answer to growing controversy about its practices in New York.
A report by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman found that one-third of Airbnb's revenues in NYC were going to commercial operators who were renting out numerous apartments. This has sparked outrage, including a day-long hearing in City Hall on Tuesday, over whether Airbnb is contributing to a shortage of affordable housing in NYC.
Airbnb has sought to quell the outrage by agreeing that commercial operators should be stopped.
At the same time, Airbnb's head of policy, David Hantman, has asked New York to change its laws to allow people to rent out their primary residences on occasion for extra cash.
Currently, New York law forbids people from renting out entire apartments for less than 30 days without the owner also being present. And Airbnb says that 87% of its hosts are people who are renting their primary residences, often to help pay the bills.
But Airbnb's proposal will meet resistance from HomeAway, which caters to people who want to rent out their vacation homes, Shepherd said.
Indeed, HomeAway, which owns vacation rental listings in 190 countries, has already sued San Francisco for a similar law, dubbed the "Airbnb law," set to take effect in February.
San Francisco's law, passed late last year, restricts short-term rentals to permanent residents and limits entire-home rentals to 90 days a year. HomeAway filed suit in U.S. District Court for Northern California in November calling the rule discriminatory.
"If they [NY] do something that is like the San Francisco law, we would have to take an action. I think that is clear," Shepherd said.
Shepherd says the San Francisco law discriminates against homeowners by allowing people who rent someone else's home to rent through Airbnb or VacationRentals.com, while restricting the actual owner unless he or she lives there full time.
"What we would say is, if you own the home, you should have the right of self-determination," Shepherd said.
"We strongly support smart regulations, and we oppose illegal hotels. We'll let other companies speak for themselves," an Airbnb spokesman said.
