Airbnb: 'Oh Yeah, I Did Do That'—Admits To Data Purge
After initially playing it coy, Airbnb is now admitting that it did delete 1,500 controversial NYC listings before submitting its first official NYC data release.
In a letter to lawmakers, the homesharing giant fessed up and said the listings—mostly run by hosts with several on the site—“did not reflect Airbnb’s vision of our community.”
This admission was forced by a report on data taken from Airbnb’s website by Murray Cox of Inside Airbnb, a firm that provides data on the homesharing site, and analyst Tom Slee, reports The Real Deal.
Airbnb has been under fire by lawmakers for operating hotel rooms in violation of subleasing laws—and the hom-sharing giant is responding by launching a massive grassroots campaign against the criticism.
Airbnb used similar tactics in San Francisco to defeat Proposition F, a ballot initiative that aimed to tighten short-term rental regulations. [TRD]
