Airbnb calls its hosts 'micro-entrepreneurs' who are in need of new laws
Addressing his company’s legal battle with New York over its users’ data, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said on Tuesday that maybe the current laws shouldn’t apply to the hosts who use its site to rent out rooms and apartments.
The travel-and-accommodations site is embroiled in a dispute with New York state regulators over a subpoena for information on thousands of “hosts” in the city. The case stems from claims that some hosts have violated a 2010 law that places limits on New York City residents’ ability to rent out their rooms and apartments.
The conflict is not entirely unexpected, Chesky said, because the fundamental problem is that there are no laws for those whom Airbnb calls hosts or “micro-entrepreneurs.” “There are laws for people, and there are laws for business,” Chesky said during the company’s “Airbnb Open” event at its headquarters in San Francisco. But for Airbnb’s hosts, “there are no laws written,” he said.
