New York is not a fan of Airbnb. The state really wants the company to pay hotel occupancy taxes on its rentals, and now Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is demanding that the room- and apartment-rental site give up data on its 15,000 hosts.
Schneiderman's subpoena comes just days after Airbnb helped one of its hosts score a win in court. New York City host Nigel Warren was fined last summer for renting out a room in his apartment. The decision was reversed in late September.
"This decision was a victory for the sharing economy and the countless New Yorkers who make the Airbnb community vibrant and strong," wrote David Hantman, Airbnb's head of public policy, in a blog post following the reversal. "As I said last summer, the sharing economy is here to stay, and so are we."
Not if New York State has anything to say about it. Warren may have been vindicated in his quest to rent out his room, but now Airbnb is coming under fire for violating a 2010 law that prevents apartment-dwellers from renting out their residences as hotel rooms.
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