New York City’s Local Law 18 came into force Tuesday, destroying the city’s Airbnb market and probably ruining tourism for the future.
The law is so strict it essentially bans many different types of guests and hosts from using the service, which will likely cripple New York’s tourism industry in the weeks and months to come. Under the new legal system, people using Airbnb have to register with the city, can only rent out spaces they are present in and are limited to having two guests at a time.
As of August 1, 2023, the city approved only 257 applications for registration, out of some 3,250, the New York Times reported. The city will fine those who violate the new law and continue to rent out their properties anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000.
In deciding to push this ridiculously overbearing legal system, New York’s lawmakers have essentially destroyed any future revenue from bachelor and bachelorette parties, fancy high-rise weddings and all types of short-term stays for families looking to explore the city but can’t justify the budget of safe hotels.
And they’re all run by democrats https://t.co/u5QSGV48A6
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 22, 2022
More than 66 million people stay in NYC’s short-term rentals every year, according to Wired. In 2022 alone, the industry raked in some $85 million. All of that is now gone thanks to legislators who claim Airbnb and Vrbo are pricing out real New Yorkers and bringing in rowdy crowds. (RELATED: REPORT: NYC Subway Murders Hit 25-Year High)
It sounds like these lawmakers are just trying to turn the city into the next version of Los Angeles, an open-air prison camp where anyone with sense, income and entrepreneurial spirit won’t even visit, let alone live.
In early August, Lady Gaga’s father Joe Germanotta decried how the Upper West Side has been inundated with crime, prostitution, drugs, noise and violence since the city started handing over hotels and other spaces to house illegal immigrants.