Peter Ward Speaks on New Airbnb Legislation

On Thursday October 28th, Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward spoke on NY1's Inside City Hall, hosted by Errol Louis. The interview comes days after Governor Cuomo signed a new law making it illegal to advertise already illegal short-term apartment rentals on websites like Airbnb. In an attempt to stop the law, Airbnb has issued a federal lawsuit.

While Airbnb has claimed the legislation takes away the ability of average New Yorkers to make a living, Mr. Ward tackled the issue at its core— "It's not just about 'does a person who's renting their apartment have a right to make a living?' It's 'do they have a right to make some extra money at the expense of everybody else's rights and privileges?' And the answer to that is no. And it's a resounding no. And those decisions have already been made by our leaders."

Click the link and skip to 32:12 to watch the segment with Peter Ward.