'Hacker Hostels' Removed From Airbnb San Francisco Listings
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – San Francisco users of the short-term accommodation site Airbnb will only be allowed to post listings at one address starting Nov. 1, the company announced Tuesday.
Since announcing in April that commercial operators were not allowed on the site in San Francisco, Airbnb has removed 213 entire-unit listings and 525 shared spaces, or "hacker hostels," from the site.
In addition, 180 entire-unit listings were voluntarily removed by hosts with multiple listings.
"The vast majority of Airbnb hosts in San Francisco are hard-working, middle-class residents who use their extra space to address economic inequality," Airbnb officials said in a statement.
"Home sharing is also an economic boon to the city, driving over $338 million in economic impact to the city, including $107 million spent by guests at restaurants, mostly in neighborhoods outside downtown," the statement said.
The city of San Francisco has battled to regulate Airbnb, including requiring registering short-term rental properties with the city and imposing time limits on rentals.
Board of Supervisors president London Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin on Oct. 12 introduced new legislation that would impose a 60-night annual cap on short-term rentals, regardless of whether the host is on-site or not, a sharp reduction from the current 90-night limit for un-hosted rentals and 365-night limit for hosted rentals.
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