Airbnb fires back at New York City’s hotel industry for ‘bombing ad’ (video)

The back-and-forth between New York City’s hotel industry and Airbnb reached a new level today, bizjournals.com reports noting the following:

An ad, paid for by the Hotel Association of New York City (HANY) and a hotel workers union, was published Monday morning blaming the popular home-sharing site for being indirectly responsible for security threats — including the recent Manchester, England, bombing.

The New York Daily News was the first to write about the advertisement, and how it referenced terrorist Salman Abedi’s use of a short-term rental apartment (even though it wasn’t an Airbnb unit).

“Are you at risk?” the text in the ad asks.

Airbnb responded with a letter addressed to more than half a dozen HANY members — many of them big-name CEOs.

The San Francisco-based giant company provided the New York Business Journal with a copy of its official statement.

Here’s what Airbnb’s public policy director Josh Meltzer stressed:

“Earlier today, the Hotel Association of New York, an organization of which you are a due-paying member, began running television ads wrongly implying that Airbnb was connected to the tragic terrorist attacks that recently took place in Manchester, England.

“First and foremost, Airbnb had nothing to do with this tragedy, and using these attacks in a cynical corporate PR campaign is despicable. Your company and the front groups you fund may oppose Airbnb and middle class people who share their homes, but using a global terrorist attack to protect your bottom line is beyond the pale and should have no place in any civil discourse.

“Unfortunately, it’s clear that these kinds of inappropriate ads will continue if you sit quietly on the sidelines. Accordingly, I am writing today to strongly urge you to break your silence and immediately demand your front group remove these advertisements from the airwaves.

“Making it clear that you will not tolerate or accept this kind of false, salacious and divisive rhetoric is quite literally the least you can do. Going forward, I hope you and your colleagues will come to the table in good faith so that we may have a rational dialogue on fair rules for home sharing.

“For our part, we have already taken a series of steps to ensure home sharing works for everyone in New York: Airbnb screens all hosts and guests globally against regulatory, terrorist, and sanctions watch lists. For United States residents, we also run background checks for certain felony convictions, sex offender registrations, or significant misdemeanors.

“We are working with additional governments around the world to identify where we can do more background checks. To our knowledge, we are one of the only major hospitality companies that conducts these checks. Do you conduct similar background checks of your guests?

“We have introduced a One Host, One Home policy to protect permanent housing. As of November 1, 2016, hosts are barred from listing more than one active entire home listing within the five boroughs, with certain exceptions for traditional B&Bs, long-term corporate housing, etc.

“We strongly support rules and regulations for home sharing and have backed legislation that would require Airbnb hosts to register with local authorities. Models for how this works can be seen in cities like Chicago, New Orleans, and Denver.

“Home sharing is an economic lifeline for families that has democratized travel for millions of people.

“As we have stated repeatedly, we are committed to working with everyone on fair rules for this practice but first, it is critical that we all reject the absurd, divisive rhetoric in these advertisements. I hope you will speak out immediately so we can move on and work together on some sensible rules of the road.”

Sincerely,

Josh Meltzer

Recipients of the letter by Airbnb included Apple Core Hotels president Vijay Dandapani; DiamondRock Hospitality Group CEO Mark Brugger; InterContinental Hotels Group Americas CEO Elie Maalouf; Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher Nassetta; Four Seasons CEO J. Allen Smith; Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian; Hersha Hospitality Trust CEO Jay Shah; Host Hotels and Resorts CEO James Risoleo; LaSalle Hotel Properties CEO Mike Barnello; Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson; Ritz Carlton president Herve Humler; RLJ Lodging Trust CEO Ross Bierkan; and Wyndham Worldwide CEO Stephen Holmes.