Airbnb is not the villain in Venice

Re “In Venice, homes become hotels,” column, Aug. 9

We were disappointed to read a column last week that unfairly implied our platform is negatively impacting the housing market in Venice.

While some boutique hotels opt to list on our site to streamline their booking process, only one of the four traditional hotels mentioned in the story has had an Airbnb guest in the past 12 months. The column also cites misleading information from hotelindustry affiliated groups that have repeatedly mischaracterized our host community in an effort to paint Airbnb in a disparaging light.

We understand the concerns involving shortterm rentals amid a statewide housing crisis and growing inequality. Our company was founded during the Great Recession to help people use what is typically their greatest expense, their home, to generate supplemental income.

In fact, the majority of our hosts report using the income they earn on Airbnb to cover basic expenses, and almost a quarter rely on it to stay in their homes.

We are working with local leaders to develop short-term rental regulations that promote the economic benefits of home sharing while removing unwanted commercial activity from our platform.

This a complicated issue, and we look forward to collaborating with The Times on future stories to provide readers with a better understanding about the impact and benefits of short-term rentals in Los Angeles and elsewhere. John Choi

Los Angeles The writer is Airbnb’s Southern California public policy manager.