NYers reveal how they feel about Airbnb in new poll
A majority of New Yorkers don't want to give Airbnb access to the Big Apple's housing market, a new poll says.
The survey, paid for by the Airbnb rival Hotel Gaming and Trades Council and obtained by The Post, found that while the home-share-app giant recently funneled $5 million into a super PAC to influence Big Apple elections, 56% of city residents want nothing to do with the short-term-rental system.
3 Home-sharing short-term rental app Airbnb wants to come back to the Big Apple with few restraints, but a majority of New Yorkers say otherwise, a new poll says.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
'New Yorkers are not falling for Airbnb's lies,' said Whitney Hu, director of civic engagement and research at Churches United for Fair Housing.
'The vast majority of families are struggling to stay in their homes, and they want politicians who will pass legislation that makes our city more affordable, not less,' she said.
3 A $1 million ad paid for by Airbnb urges New Yorkers to oppose three mayoral candidates who have called for stifling it.
Youtube/ Affordable New York
Of the residents surveyed in the HTC, 38% said they supported Airbnb in the city, while 6% remained unsure.
The numbers appeared to be non-partisan, with 57% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans opposing the short stays. Concerns among the city dwellers centered on the housing crisis — with more than 80% of respondents expressing worry about a diminished regular housing supply with the short-term rentals.
Airbnb suffered a major blow in 2023 when the City Council passed Local Law 18 — effectively banning the home-share app involving any apartment where the current tenant or owner wasn't present.
Late last year, a bill aiming to revive the app's short-term rental market was introduced and sponsored by a slew of City Council members of varying progressive leanings, including Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Since then, Airbnb opened a $5 million super PAC — Affordable New York — in which it donated more than $2.1 million to support the campaigns of 13 candidates for public office, including 11 for city council.
The tech giant has also spent $1 million on an opposition ad against mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander and Scott Stringer — all of whom are progressive but want heavy restrictions on Airbnb in the city.
3 A major hotel-industry group paid for the poll.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Though the ad that aired earlier this month did not endorse any candidates, it promoted the interests of frontrunner candidate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The move was a puzzling nod to a candidate who is endorsed by the HTC, which directly opposes and competes with Airbnb.
'As governor, Andrew Cuomo took action against unregulated short-term rentals, and he's promised to continue to stand up for tenants and workers as mayor,' noted HTC Political Director Bhav Tibrewal in a statement to Politico earlier this month.
'If Airbnb thinks it's a flex to publicly light their money on fire, we're happy to not stand in their way on this one,' he said.
Airbnb policy chief Michael Blaustein said, 'Regular New Yorkers deserve the same rights as all Americans – renting their home when they're away for short periods.
'A broad coalition of homeowners and small businesses are behind common-sense changes to the city's strict short-term rental rules that will allow New Yorkers to share their home without taking a single unit off the long-term housing market,' he said.
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