Rafael: Since its inception, Airbnb has become an increasingly popular option for tourists visiting New York City.

In 2020 two along, short-term rental listings across the city generated $85 million in revenue.

While visitors have enjoyed the lower prices in larger spaces at short-term rentals, some residents have brought issues like noise, trash, skyrocketing rents in response, the city has passed a new law that severely limits the number of short-term rentals by requiring rental host to register with the city and by restricting the number of guest s. Will new restrictions reverse rising rental prices?

Do they constitute a de facto ban on business, as Airbnb claims?

Joining us now are Amanda Hoover the reporter covering this issue with wired, and Margenett, who in the past has rented out her home on Airbnb.

Amanda, let's start with you.

Reckitt Denver restaurant -- break it down for us please.

Amanda: This is a registration law.

Short-term rental hosts who want to rent out places for less than 30 days now have to register with the city, but they will only be approved if they are going to be present in the home at the time of the stay and let it out to two people.

Effectively, this is not letting people do Airbnb's.

Many people come with normal family.

They have been effectively booted from the Airbnb platform.

Rafael: Margenett, representatives of Airbnb has said this a bounce to a defect -- this amounts to a de facto ban on Airbnb in New York City?

Do you agree?

Margenett: Effectively, yes.

For several years, we have been able to rely on a secondary stream of income using a short-term rental.

The majority of our business is from families who are traveling, often abroad, who want more space and amenities than a lot a lot of hotels can provide.

Given that there are only two people who can stay there, I agree it is a de facto ban.

Rafael: How is this affecting you?

What kind of hit are you taking Margenett: It varies from family to family.

For us, we bought our two-family home with the intention of creating a secondary income stream for ourselves.

New York City is one of the most expensive in the world.

It takes a lot, sometimes a lifetime, to buy your home.

When we bought this home, we bought it with the intention of being able to have the flexibility to use the second unit as we saw fit.

That included short-term rentals.

But it also includes other things.

When I consult, and space for my office.

When my daughter has a sleep overs, it is her friends.

It is a financial and quality of life hit.

Rafael: Amanda, among the reasons city lawmakers have given for deciding to go after short-term tolls -- rentals where noise work -- rentals were causing noise, trash, and danger , how did the determine that?

Complained to their offices?

To 311?

Amanda: This is a common theme when it comes to short-term rentals.

There have been shootings at short-term rentals, complaints about noise, parties.

These are major places for bachelor and bachelorette parties.

There are some that are quasi-hotels with a personal touch from a hose.

Some of these spaces have frustrated neighbors.

It is not just New York City.

This is an issue across the board.

Rafael: Margenett, did you ever get any complaints about noise for trash or danger from your gas?

-- guests.

Marjenay: Of Salina.

I do not agree that some of those scenarios have happened, but what I would offer is that the ecosystem of short-term rentals is complex.

Some players are professional landlords, some corporations, some are set it and forget it.

That is not the scenario for homeowners like me who generally live in the building they are renting their unit in.

While some of those scenarios may be happening in other places, the regulations throw out the baby with the bathwater.

We are trying to get an exemption for owner occupied 12-family homes.

We are generally there, not disrupting apartment buildings, compromising security for other people.

We are just trying to make ends meet or have the freedom to use the unit as we see fit as an owner.

Rafael: Amanda, the larger claim is that short-term rentals are driving or are part of the reasons why rents are rising so high in New York City.

Alisha Glenn, who was deputy mayor for housing under de Blasio, has said she never saw any data showing that short-term rentals were significantly affecting short-term housing prices.

Is there any hard evidence showing that short-term rentals have been driving this increase in rents?

Amanda: It is more a piece of this bigger puzzle.

We have seen the number of short-term rentals on Airbnb since enforcement of in early September drop from 22,000 to 3000.

In the scheme of an 8 million person city, 19,000 departments might not be -- make a victim.

These rentals have moved further out of Manhattan and Midtown added more into residential neighborhood.

There could be more impact in those areas, but it is still, I do not think this can overnight open up more residences for people.

Rafael: There are those who argue, and I remember hearing this a lot, that the main motivation for the law is not really about noise or trash or danger or rising prices but rather about the large cloud the hotel industry and unions have.

Date want to restrict competition.

Is there anything to that?

Amanda: That is certainly an argument I have heard a lot.

What we see with this is New York is taking a strict stance in terms of regulations on short-term rentals but it is not alone.

So many other cities have limited the amount of nights that people can last full apartments on short-term rental platforms.

That is certainly an argument.

Experts have said this could cause hotel prices to rise and demand to increase.

The validity to that, I am not sure.

It is regulation for short-term rentals -- Rafael: What do you think, Margenett, do you suspect that maybe the hotel industry has something to do with this?

Marjenay: This is a complex issue.

A lot of issue, the law has used an ax to solve a problem when they should've used a scalpel.

There are people who have exploited the law, companies, people who have hundreds of listings.

There is a need for that to be examined, perhaps regulated, but for 1-2 family homeowners, we are not contributing to the problems of the law purports to want to solve.

What we are asking for is a look at the law that looks at the different constituencies and abides regulations appropriate for the contribution to the problem.

Right now, there is an opportunity for hotels to capitalize on it.

Where are those people going to go?

There has to be a bigger picture looking at the impact of tourism overall.

I do not think everybody's going to go to a hotel.

Rafael: I was 10 the Director that for the last nine years, friends who've come to New York have all stated Airbnb's, not hotels.

To that point, Amanda, you are going against the former deputy mayor of housing, who said that Airbnb's have opened up travel to hundreds of thousands of people who never would've had the opportunity to come to New York.

Is the new log going to cause a big hit on the tourist industry?

$85 million last year alone from the start term -- short-term Amanda: Rentals.

Amanda:Amanda: It will be what happens after December.

Right now, Airbnb did not cancel existing reservations through December 1.

The holidays are coming up.

Big tourism time in New York City.

We do not know how people will be a place where we might see a bigger shaft.

Right now, there are still people who have booked trips and can come and stay in their Airbnb even if it is not fully compliant with the new law.

Enforcement, the city is ramping it out, but a bit slow right now, it seems.

We will see how this plays out.

There is already people with short-term rentals on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, other places that are not booking platforms.

It is easier to find the radar.

Rafael: Marjenay, Amanda has written that at one point Berlin did restrictions similar to ours that rescinded it in 2018.

Is he reasonable changes to the lodge and not happen, are you hoping that maybe these laws will be rescinded?

Marjenay: Again, the opportunity is for nuance.

People could be excluding the short-term market.

That needs to be looked at.

The city has the ability to consider a different set of circumstances or exceptions for 1-2 family homeowners.

We are part of an organization where we are trying to get the city to get back to the table and have conversations with us.

Rafael: We will have to end it there.

Thank you.

Interesting conversation.

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