Airbnb Backs the EU's Short-Term Rental Proposal and Makes Suggestions for Important Changes

Airbnb, the short-term rental operator, has praised the European Commission's new guidelines for the EU Short-Term Rental (STR) legislation proposal.

According to a recent Airbnb statement, 40% of Airbnb hosts in the EU believe their income helps them cover the growing cost of living.

However, due to fragmented and excessive municipal restrictions, most ordinary Europeans are barred from reaping the benefits of waiting.

“Airbnb is already working with policy-makers from across the EU on establishing and enforcing fair and transparent STR rules and believes the EU proposal is a major step forward that can introduce clear, simple, and harmonised rules that unlock the benefits of hosting for European families and give governments the information they need to clamp down on speculators and over-tourism,” the statement reads.

Airbnb has also outlined three major implementation considerations in its position paper for the Commission to consider in order to ensure that the proposal fits the EU's goal of implementing harmonised and appropriate standards.

One crucial element is the direction of data sharing, in which Airbnb embraces an EU-wide framework for exchanging hosting data.

According to Airbnb, the current approach may increase the danger of fragmentation by establishing 27 "Single" Data Entry Points. As a result, it emphasises its support for a truly single data-sharing gateway for EU-level platforms, through which data can be shared with member states.

As a result, the compliance burden and associated costs for both Member States and platforms would be reduced. At the same time, it would contribute to the eventual objective of a more standardised approach to platform data sharing.

Furthermore, the second point includes a more active role for the Commission, which means that Airbnb would support the Commission being more active in evaluating and verifying the proportionality of these registration schemes in order to ensure greater consistency in the implementation of EU rules across the bloc.

The third and final concern is the implementation of disproportionate rules outside the scope of these suggestions. Airbnb stated in this regard that such disproportionate requirements violate the principles of the Services Directive and the Member States. Airbnb further stated that the STR plan does not address instances of onerous local laws that extend beyond registration systems.

Furthermore, Airbnb co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyck stated that hosting is an economic lifeline for Europeans dealing with growing living costs. Nonetheless, complicated municipal restrictions frequently exclude families from the financial benefits it provides.

By fLEXI tEAM