Members Travel to Albany to Lobby Legislators

Almost 200 members journeyed to Albany on March 10, as part of the Share Better coalition, to lobby legislators. The members—and others—split into groups and met with more than 50 members of the New York State Assembly and Senate to express concerns about illegal hotels, illegal apartment rentals and Airbnb, the company whose web service helps enables these violations of the law.

Members told legislators how Airbnb’s so-called sharing economy is driving down occupancy rates and room rates of legitimate hotels that play by the rules. They talked about how illegal apartment rentals are vastly reducing the city’s affordable housing stock and making communities more dangerous.

Later, members assembled on the state capitol’s “million dollar staircase,” where they were greeted by a number of state legislators, including Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Dick Gottfried and State Senators Liz Krueger, Gustavo Rivera and Brad Hoylman.

Legislators agreed to sign on to a letter calling for statutes to ensure that Airbnb rentals comply fully with the law and increasing penalties against illegal hotels and apartment rentals.

Share Better is a group of New York City friends, neighbors, community activists and elected officials who have a unique perspective on the impact of Airbnb in local neighborhoods.

“Far from being a harmless service where New York City residents can share their homes with guests to the City, Airbnb enables New York City tenants to break the law and potentially violate their leases, it exacerbates the affordable housing crisis in our neighborhoods, and it poses serious public safety concerns for Airbnb guests, hosts and their neighbors,” Share Better said in an explanation of its role.

Current New York law says it’s illegal to rent out apartments for less than 30 days unless the primary residents are also staying there. An investigation by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman discovered that this law was being broken all the time through Airbnb. Schneiderman’s study revealed that almost 75 percent (75%) of all city apartment listings on Airbnb’s website violated that law.

“Our union was pleased to join other members of the Share Better coalition as well as affordable housing activists in this impressive effort in Albany,” Peter Ward said. “This is a necessary campaign against a concept that is threatening not only the legitimate hotel industry that employs our members but the neighborhoods and apartment buildings where many of us reside. The city needs more affordable housing and services like Airbnb are keeping affordable units away from middle class working families that need them.

This is obviously an important fight for our members and their families, and those that traveled to Albany this week did a great service for all of us in the Hotel Trades Council.”

State Senator Gustav Rivera, left, and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried speaking with members in Albany on March 10.

Wendy Baranello, HEAT Organizer, Aissata Boucum, New Yorker Hotel, Juana Velez, Rank and File Organizer, Vivienne Morgan, Westin Grand Central, Oscar Rodriguez, Westin Grand Central, and Denise Matthews, Grand Hyatt.

Diego Manjarrez, Lexington Hotel, Tonia Johnson-Williams, Herald Square, and Ronnie Davis, Lexington Hotel, assembling on the “million dollar staircase” in the New York State Legislature building on March 10. We’ll have additional photos from this important event in our next edition of Hotel Voice.