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Another host, Anthony Farmer, filed a class action proposal against Airbnb in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in November. The lawsuit, which attempts to bypass Airbnb’s arbitration terms, accuses the company of violating its contract and fiduciary duty and of violating consumer protection laws.
Christopher Nulty, a spokesperson for Airbnb, said the company’s policy prioritizes public health and safety, which would ultimately help hosts “by maintaining strong customer loyalty and high demand for Airbnb ads ”. He said Mr. Farmer’s lawsuit was without merit.
‘Back to our roots’
In May, Airbnb announced it would go back “to our roots” with a focus on “the ordinary people who host their homes.”
This position has commercial advantages. Professional landlords with lots of ads may appear to be taking homes and turning neighborhoods into tourist areas, pushing politicians and neighborhood associations to impose regulations. A family renting a spare room often appears less threatening.
In a financial prospectus in November, Airbnb said 90% of its hosts were “individual hosts,” defined as those who create their ads directly on the site instead of using specialized software to sign up. But according to Transparent, a software provider for short-term rental operators, only 37% of Airbnb’s listings were managed by people who own property in September. About half of the listings were managed by hosts of 2 to 20 properties and 14% by hosts of 21 or more.
So when Airbnb focused on individual hosts, it annoyed its business hosts even more.
“Their business relies on professional hosts, in a way, but they don’t often say that,” said Mr. Vail, the operator of Columbus. “They don’t want this message to make headlines.”
Mr. Nulty said Airbnb’s focus on “primary hosts” did not come at the expense of business hosts. He said business hosts were represented on its Host Advisory Board, a group the company formed in October so hosts could meet with Airbnb executives.
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