Opinion: Airbnb is not the villain it’s made out to be in L.A.’s housing crisis

To the editor: We were disappointed to read a column last week that unfairly implied our platform is negatively impacting the housing market in Venice. (“Venice has become an epicenter of Los Angeles’ struggle over short-term rentals. Call it the Airbnb problem,” Aug. 9)

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 hotel-industry affiliated groups that have repeatedly mischaracterized our host community in an effort to paint Airbnb in a disparaging light.

We understand the concerns involving short-term rentals amid a statewide housing crisis and growing inequality. 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.

John Choi, Los Angeles

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

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