Today, Airbnb spaces on offer range from an $850-a-night duplex overlooking Hoboken and Manhattan to a cluttered, windowless room that, at $20 per night, might be one of the cheapest rooms in the area. “I think coming from New York, there’s this stigma about New Jersey, but if you live in Europe or Latin America, you have no idea,” Francois Baron said. After moving to Chelsea with his partner two years ago, they decided to rent out two units in their brownstone on Airbnb, so they could continue to store furniture and art there. Two other units are rented out on a long-term basis. With residents embracing the service, Jersey City’s elected officials felt they had to do the same. When residents in some of the high-rise buildings lining the Hudson River raised concerns to Councilwoman Candice Osborne, she proposed legalization, and taxation, of the service. “You can fight it all kinds of ways, but at the end of the day, it’s someone’s personal property, and it’s a service people want to use, so there is only so much you can do,” Ms. Osborne said. Just ask Ed Ramirez. He began renting out space in his apartment in June 2013 in the McGinley Square neighborhood and was so impressed with Airbnb, he convinced friends and neighbors to use the service. He now manages 30 listings for between $40 and $110 a night. Under the new law, he would have to get a license, as would anyone with more than five listings. Mr. Ramirez said it was hard to find long-term tenants for most of his units, but renting them through Airbnb proved more lucrative. And local businesses, like restaurants, also benefit from the flow of renters. He does not see the new tax as an impediment to his business. “That’s the beauty of technology. We can adjust our prices on the fly if nobody is staying,” he said. “It’s like running a hotel out of the palm of your hand, except the rooms aren’t all in one building and the model is more progressive. Everybody benefits.”
Today , Jersey City Mayor , Steven Fulop , will introduce legislation to ban the use of all short - term accommodation sites such as Airbnb and HomeAway , which could be approved as early as next month . According to the New York Times : “ In exchange for agreeing to let some of Jersey City ’s 262,000 residents rent out a room , or even their entire apartment on weekends , the company would charge users the same 6 % hospitality tax currently levied on guests at the city ’s dozen hotels . Mr. Fulop anticipates the tax would be between $ 600,000 and $ 1 m annually on the more than 300 Airbnb listings in the city .