AIRBNB FILED SUIT against the city of Boston Tuesday seeking to block officials from implementing new regulations on short-term rentals set to take effect January 1, claiming the rules illegally require the company to turn over private host information and to bar investors from listing multiple units. In its lawsuit, Airbnb portrays itself as merely […]
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Posted inOpinion
Senate gives special treatment to Airbnb
REAL ESTATE INVESTORS are increasingly reshaping local residential neighborhoods by acquiring homes and apartments and converting them into full-time tourist lodging as “short-term rentals.” What began about a decade ago with a few homeowners offering an occasional room for rent is now a hot investment trend—producing record earnings for absentee owners, but also threatening housing […]
Posted inOpinion
Second-home owners lose out in Airbnb regs
FOR MANY OF US, Boston is home. For others, our city is an exciting place to visit, full of rich history, beautiful neighborhoods, and fun things to do. Our welcoming community brings a wide variety of travelers looking to experience all that Boston has to offer. These visitors bring in vital tourism dollars to small […]
Posted inEconomy
City council puts restraints on Airbnb
THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL overwhelmingly approved tough new restrictions on short-term rentals offered by companies such as Airbnb and HomeAway, eliminating investor-owned units from the marketplace while allowing owner-occupied, two- and three-family homeowners to rent out some of their units year-round. The council on Wednesday made some minor adjustments to a proposal by Mayor Marty […]
Posted inEconomy
Senate goes light on short-term rental regs
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE has passed its bill for short-term-rentals, a stripped-down version of the House measure that simplifies the tax on hosts and eliminates any tiered structure so that people offering a single room in their home are treated the same as the investor with scores of units for rent. The Senate bill, passed on […]
Posted inEconomy
Rosenberg suggests House to blame for Airbnb inaction
SEN. STAN ROSENBERG chastised his fellow lawmakers on Thursday for dithering for years while the short-term rental industry embedded itself in the market and grew unencumbered by regulations and the lodging tax “It’s not going away, technology is not going away,” said Rosenberg, who was part of a CommonWealth magazine Newsmakers panel discussing how Beacon Hill […]
Posted inEconomy
The Airbnb gold rush is on
Photographs by Ken Richardson AIRBNB, LIKE THE draw of ride-hailing apps to car owners, started with the premise that your home can make you a little extra money by renting out rooms to travelers looking to save a few dollars. Empty-nesters, they said, could rent out junior’s bedroom now that he’s moved out and put […]
Posted inEconomy
Everyone knows Anthony in the North End – just not this one
THIS STORY IS A SIDEBAR TO THE MAIN STORY: THE AIRBNB GOLD RUSH IS ON. ANTHONY WAS A popular Airbnb host. His 88 units in Boston, including about half in the North End, drew more than 2,000 mostly positive reviews over a 15-month period. “We had a fantastic stay in Anthony’s place,” wrote Carol from […]
Posted inOpinion
Airbnb’s smoke and mirrors
IN HIS NOVEMBER 8 op-ed in CommonWealth (“Time for state to catch up on Airbnb tax”), Airbnb executive Will Burns raises many excellent points about why it is time for the state to act on the taxation and regulation of short-term rental platforms. It is important, however, that lawmakers and the public see through the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Baby, you can’t drive my car
General Motors wants to own the driverless car market. So much so they have pushed legislators in at least six states, including Massachusetts, to file bills that would only allow the zombie cars to be made and owned by auto companies who have experience building the vehicles in the US. That would exclude from the market […]