B y the N umbers
Illegal hotel crackdown heats up
Officials ramp up enforcement, but apartment-share websites fight back
$245
Median price of a hotel room in New York City.
$180
Median cost of an Airbnb apartment in New York City.
$504 million Amount of hotel tax revenue New York City collected last year.
$2.5 billion
Estimated value of Airbnb today.
90,000
Number of hotel rooms Manhattan is slated to have by the end of 2014.
225,000
I
t’s no secret that thousands of New Yorkers use websites like Airbnb, OneFineStay and VRBO to rent out their homes to tourists for short-term stays. But in doing so, they are violating a controversial 2010 state law that makes it illegal to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days when the owner is not home. And lately — with encouragement from the powerful hotel lobby — the state has stepped up its efforts to crack down on “illegal hotels.” Last month, for example, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed data on about 15,000 New Yorkers who regularly rent out their apartments through the popular website Airbnb. But Airbnb is not turning over the names without a fight. It countered by attempting to block the subpoena in New York State Supreme Court and launching an online petition requesting the legalization of short-term apartment rentals in New York. It has since garnered almost 45,000 signatures. By Evan Bleier and Candace Taylor
Number of renters who use Airbnb in New York.
52 million
Number of New York City tourists in 2012.
87 percent
51
Number of illegal hotels citywide closed by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement in 2011, the most recent year for which data is available.
316 percent
Increase in Airbnb listings worldwide between start of 2012 and last month. Listings jumped from 120,000 to 500,000 during that time.
$800 to $2,400 Range of fines for illegally renting out an apartment for short-term stays.
$1 million
Amount sought by NYC in punitive damages against short-term rental operator Smart Apartments. In February, a state judge barred the company from operating residential apartment units as hotel rooms. Sources: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Crain’s, New York Daily News, Bloomberg News, Priceonomics.com, Associated Press, CNET, Peers.org, Tech Crunch, CNN.
Hotel occupancy in New York City — the highest in the nation and one of the key factors driving up room rates in the city.
6,600
Number of violations the city has issued against illegal hotels since 2006, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg expanded enforcement of the issue.
NEw LIStING 1158 Fifth Avenue | Manor House on Central Park NIKKI FIELD Senior Global Real Estate Advisor, Associate Broker | 212.606.7669 | nikki.field@sothebyshomes.com | www.nikkifield.com
$14,500,000 Compiled by Yaffi Spodek
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22 November 2013 www.TheRealDeal.com
10/30/2013 4:18:31 PM