Airbnb opens an apartment-style hotel in Rockefeller Plaza, if you're really rich or something

Airbnb has signed an agreement with a large New York real estate developer, RXR Realty, to create a "new category of urban housing" in commercial buildings such as a tower located on the Rockefeller Plaza, announced CNBC Sunday.

In what CNBC has called "Airbnb's biggest move into the traditional hotel business," the company will transform 10 top floors of the 75 Rockefeller Plaza (sorry, no 30 rocks) in stylish apartments with features such as living rooms and kitchens. He is also studying other contracts with RXR, including a development project led by RXR near Brooklyn Navy Yard. This is the first time that Airbnb has been working on hotel-type units, CNBC wrote:

In a press release, both companies announced plans to collaborate on design and services. RXR will be responsible for the execution and management of the sites, while the Airbnb platform will be used to market and book rooms. A third party operator will manage daily operations.

According to the statement, the RXR / Airbnb project will comply with union and operational regulations, including those of the New York Hotel Trades Council.

It is unclear how difficult it will be to book one of these rentals, but rest assured that you will certainly not be able to pay for it yourself.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the project appears to be partly an evolution towards other sources of revenue, because Airbnb's short-term rental business – the service that fueled its explosive growth – is under significant pressure from local authorities who accuse of black market illegal hotels, violating local housing regulations and increasing rent by removing housing units from the market to meet the needs of tourists and other visitors. In New York, it is illegal in most buildings to have flats for less than 30 days without a permanent tenant at the same time. City authorities have been increasingly aggressive in cracking down on the biggest perpetrators. The city has also embarked on a legal battle to force Airbnb to transmit "user data and lists related to about 20,000 apartment listings," according to HousingWire.

Airbnb is preparing for an initial public offering for savings, and the Journal said it was under pressure to show that it could diversify its activities:

Faced with such reactions in many cities, Airbnb has begun to change its strategy by trying to get more involved in the design and operation of short-term rental operations. An Airbnb company and real estate developer Niido has opened Airbnb branded accommodation in Kissimmee, Florida, and one in Nashville. Niido said that he foresaw many others.

These are part of the company's broader efforts to diversify as it prepares for an initial public offering scheduled for next year.

In March 2019, Airbnb also announced its intention to redeem HotelTonight's hotel reservation service as part of what was widely seen as an attempt to better compete with full-service booking companies.

[CNBC/Wall Street Journal]