The 234 Apartment

T wo weeks ago, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge handed down a decision designed to strike fear in the hearts of landlords. Justice James d’Auguste ordered that an independent receiver be appointed to manage two Midtown residential buildings where the landlords allegedly allowed illegal Airbnb rentals to occur. The case, which began when the city sued the landlords in February 2015, has become one of the battlegrounds in a larger war between city enforcement agencies and short- term rental sites like Airbnb. Airbnb, which was recently valued at $31 billion, refuses to release the exact addresses of hosts who break the law by renting their entire apartment for less than 30 days without being present. Without the addresses and names of Airbnb violators , the city mostly targets the owners of buildings that rack up the most illegal hotel complaints from 311 calls and the New York City Department of Buildings. “This entire model—and it was intentional [by the city]—is complaint-drive...

Earlier this month, Skift published a comprehensive look at Airbnb’s Road to an IPO, or initial public offering on the stock market. While the story primarily focused on all of the many things the company is doing (and needs to do) as it pursues that inevitable IPO, it wasn’t necessarily a story about what it takes for a company like Airbnb to go public. Indeed, what Airbnb is doing right now in its efforts to become a “super brand of travel,” or a new breed of online travel agency (OTA), speaks to the very future of travel. Already, we’ve seen the company expand into tours and activities with the November launch of its Trips business, adding to its already robust 4-million-listing- strong Homes business . CEO Brian Chesky has also hinted the company may soon enter the flights sector as well. It’s a glimpse of what we as travelers can expect to see and to experience in the next few years as platforms like Airbnb continue to evolve and to attempt to solve the many pain points we st...