Kimberly Kaye rents out her one-bedroom apartment in New York City's East Village through popular lodging platform Airbnb. Kaye and her husband listed their apartment on the site after Kaye's chronic, degenerative illness forced her to quit her job and go on disability. The couple couldn't make rent and didn't want to lose their home.
Airbnb wants New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to see Kaye and other hosts like her: average New Yorkers, some of whom have fallen on hard times, who are able to cover the cost of their extraordinarily high rents by listing their homes on Airbnb. But if appealing to state regulators' emotional sides isn't enough, the company has commissioned an economic impact study to back up its claims with hard facts.
Airbnb released the study Tuesday in the midst of a legal fight with Schneiderman, who has demanded Airbnb hand over data on all of its New York City hosts. The company is challenging the subpoena in New York State Supreme Court.
Airbnb would take a big hit if it were kicked out of New York City, but the 21st century lodging platform is trying to convince state regulators that New York would miss Airbnb if it weren't around. The company said its 17,500 New York City hosts and their 416,000 guests generated $632 million—directly and indirectly—for the city over the last year.
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