Airbnb could be forced to share data with European cities

A group of European cities including Paris, London, Helsinki and Barcelona has called on the European Commission to impose stronger regulations on short-term holiday rental (STHR) platforms such as Airbnb. This could mean requiring companies to share more data with cities to aid oversight.

Representatives from 22 cities which collaborate on STHR regulation via the Eurocities alliance recently met with the European Commission Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, to share their proposals ahead of the forthcoming Digital Services Act. The regulation will update the digital services legal framework in Europe for the first time in twenty years and details could be outlined by the end of the year.

Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence and Vice President of Eurocities, said: “We can work with the European Commission to ensure an effective EU framework that protects and empowers people and businesses, while ensuring data and new technologies are used to deliver better public policy.”

Airbnb said it wants to collaborate with cities and regulators to “find common solutions and set clear, consistent and proportionate rules”.

Compliance

The cities argue that the growth of STHR has contributed to a reduction in the availability of affordable housing in some areas, as well as issues such as neighbourhood noise and local businesses being pushed out.

While numerous cities have adopted local laws to better regulate STHR, the leaders argue that illegal activities are difficult to counter as the platforms do not readily share their data with local authorities. Forcing them to do so could better enable cities to track trends and monitor compliance on issues such as maximum rental limits, tax collection and safety regulations.

Cities and technology companies have not always seen eye to eye on data-sharing, though. In the mobility space, Uber had a long-running dispute with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation over the issue, and ride-hailing company Wheely has more recently clashed with the Moscow Department of Transportation.

Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, said: “We are not against the platforms, but they must abide with local and national regulations. It is time for a new European regulatory approach that serves first and foremost the general interest, which is for us accessibility of housing and the liveability in our cities.”

Co-operation

The 22 cities are: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brussels, Cologne, Florence, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Krakow, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Porto, Prague, Utrecht, Valencia, Vienna and Warsaw.

Other proposed measures discussed include holding platforms liable for the content they display and obligating them to remove listings without a valid registration number, as well as ensuring enforcement against those who do not comply with local and national rules.

In December last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union classified Airbnb as an online platform and not a real estate company, limiting the regulations it would need to comply with. The Digital Services Act presents an opportunity to revisit how such platforms are regulated.

The European Commission’s Margrethe Vestager said: “Better co-operation between platforms and public authorities will be a prerequisite for a proper enforcement of the Digital Services Act. It will provide a modern and harmonised regulatory framework and take account of the needs of national and local administrations and compliance with local rules, while providing a predictable environment for innovative digital services.”

The latest push from cities comes as Airbnb’s revenues have been hit hard by COVID-19 travel restrictions, leading to the company making around a quarter of its workforce redundant in May.

Airbnb’s Director of Public Policy in EMEA, Patrick Robinson, noted that Airbnb regularly shares data with governments in compliance with GDPR but he called for “greater clarity” for governments about how data can be accessed for legitimate purposes, while respecting the EU’s privacy rules.

“This consultation is an exciting and important next step in the direction for a Digital Services Act to reflect the new digital age,” he said. “In parallel, we also support similar progress in other areas of policy, including offline regulations, to take into account the different ways platforms do business. We are committed to continuing our direct engagement with hundreds of local, regional and national governments to make sure that our platform works for the benefit of everyone.”