WU BLASTS AIRBNB FOR `FAKE NEWS'
Says email had false info
City Councilor Michelle Wu blasted “false information” in a widely distributed email message from Airbnb critical of her proposal to regulate short-term rentals in the city.
“It was surprising and honestly rather disappointing to see that a major company would be putting out false information to so many people to try to get them concerned enough to participate,” Wu said. “It was pretty misleading.”
In an email seeking to enlist people to oppose Wu’s proposed regulations, Airbnb criticized the councilor, saying she was not acting in the interests of Boston residents.
“She has aligned with big hotel interests against the interests of regular Bostonians,” the email said. “Boston City Councilor Michelle
Wu has a proposal that would place unreasonable restrictions on home sharing in the city and we need your help to stop it.”
The email centers on a proposal Wu filed last month as an amendment to a proposed short-term rental ordinance from Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Walsh eventually withdrew the proposed rules, and neither he nor the city council have a formal proposal pending right now.
Airbnb took aim at what it said was a 30-day cap in Wu’s proposal on stays in short-term rentals without the “host” present. But, Wu said, that is not included in her proposal.
“The 30 day cap on un-hosted stays, it is unclear where that came from,” Wu said.
Responding to the letter on Twitter yesterday, Wu called the email “fake news.”
Wu’s regulations included measures she said would cut down on the number of housing units that are dedicated short-term rentals, which take up housing and drive up costs for residents, she said.
“In my eyes this is purely private profit that’s being extracted on the backs of renters who are being kicked out,” Wu said.
Still, Airbnb stood by its email yesterday.
“Councillor Wu’s home sharing proposal, as circulated during the council’s March 19 working session, is anti-tenant, anti-middle class and would violate the privacy of Bostonians sharing their homes,” Airbnb spokeswoman Crystal Davis said in a statement. “While thousands of longtime Bostonians are using home sharing to pay the bills and stay in the city they love, Wu’s overly restrictive proposal will do more to push them back.”
The back and forth between Wu and Airbnb is the latest flare-up in a yearslong debate over how to regulate Airbnb and similar companies. Critics say the industry is contributing to Boston’s housing crisis, while others say the service helps them pay the bills. Both the state Senate and House have approved short-term rental legislation, but the bills differ in key areas.