Three of the nation’s largest landlords have held discussions with Airbnb Inc. about allowing apartment dwellers to market rooms through the company’s global network in exchange for a slice of the revenue. Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities Inc. and Camden Property Trust have had discussions with Airbnb in recent weeks about joining...
Last night the Wall Street Journal reported that three of America’s largest residential landlords have held discussions with Airbnb about allowing tenants to market their properties on the website in exchange for a cut of the revenue. Apparently, real estate giants Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities and Camden Property Trust have all had discussions with Airbnb in recent weeks and are all interested in pursuing a revenue-sharing model with Airbnb that would expand the website’s access to rental units across America. All three are said to be currently examining the legal aspects of the potential deal carefully to ensure they do not fall foul of local laws. The report comes as part of an ongoing investigation into how Airbnb, which has been operating since 2008, is using its platform to profit from renting out rooms at homes around the world. “I’m sort of appalled that Airbnb thinks the next answer to their problem of not running a legal business is to try to convince some number of landlords … that they can get in on the deal,” said New York State Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat and vocal opponent of Airbnb.