It’s not just us–the MIC Coalition is trying to shut down Airbnb, too. If you use Airbnb to book rooms on the road, this matters to you, too.
Airbnb is stepping up its fight against the hotel lobby on Capitol Hill.
The company paints the American Hotel and Lodging Association as opposing a minimum wage increase and having “a long history of fighting unions” in a memo, obtained by The Hill, that will be sent to congressional offices Tuesday.
An Airbnb representative said the memo would be sent to the offices of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
The missive is pegged to a letter sent Monday to labor unions by union-affiliated Airbnb users who criticize what they see as a partnership between Unite Here and the hotel and lodging trade group.
The war between the hotel industry and Airbnb has largely been fought at the local level, where critics accuse the home-sharing platform of driving up rent prices and restricting housing stock. But in July, three senators — including progressive champion Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — asked the Federal Trade Commission to “conduct a review of commercial operators on short-term rental platforms.”
The hotel lobbying group later hailed the added scrutiny on Airbnb and talked of “working closely” for months with the group of senators, which also included Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), in a message to its members.
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