Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#1

Post by talhof8 » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:27 PM UTC

Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds
metro.us

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#2

Post by dominotw » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:38 PM UTC

>Airbnb users helped prop up 4,580 jobs throughout the five boroughs

I am courious about how they calculated such precise numbers

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#3

Post by ScottWhigham » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

I was fully expecting this to by a study "by Airbnb" and I wasn't disappointed:

"On behalf of Airbnb, an online service for short-term vacation rentals, HR&A conducted an economic impact assessment of Airbnb rental activities in the City of San Francisco, and is currently conducting a follow-up study of its impacts on New York City."

http://www.hraadvisors.com/featured/economic-impacts-of-airb...

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#4

Post by cylinder » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

Bunch of garbage. Enabling tourists to stay in different neighborhoods doesn't grow the economy, it just shifts where some of the money is spent from midtown to downtown.

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#5

Post by JumpCrisscross » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:50 PM UTC

This is not an independent, peer-reviewed study. It was commissioned by AirBnB. HR&A, the study's authors, point the interested to AirBnB's press release versus a full paper [1].

One would be cautioned against taking its findings seriously. I am even intrigued as to why AirBnB felt it was unnecessary or even counterproductive to release the full paper.

[1] https://twitter.com/hraadvisors/status/393039913307758592

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#6

Post by fennecfoxen » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:51 PM UTC

Don't worry. The next mayor, Bill de Blasio, will be certain to put an end to this sort of horrible monstrous abuse of the city, in the name of Affordable Housing and Tenants' Rights. :P

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#7

Post by kmfrk » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:53 PM UTC

Is the report even available anywhere? Did Metro just take the claims by HR&A at face value?

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#8

Post by deltron » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:53 PM UTC

I love airbnb, I just used them for my honeymoon (though that was in Athens, Greece).

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#9

Post by ajiang » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:56 PM UTC

ScottWhigham wrote: post #3

I was fully expecting this to by a study "by Airbnb" and I wasn't disappointed: "On behalf of Airbnb, an online service for short-term vacation rentals, HR&A conducted an economic impact assessment of Airbnb rental activities in the City of San Francisco, and is currently conducting a follow-up study of its impacts on New York City." http://www.hraadvisors.com/featured/economic-impacts-of-airb...

Yep. I actually think it would be valuable to have a third-party non-profit entity that provides economic impact assessments of start-ups like Uber and Airbnb, so we are backing up our regulatory policy changes on data rather than emotion or lobbying.

Re: Airbnb a big boost to NYC economy, study finds

#10

Post by fennecfoxen » Thu, Oct 24, 2013, 2:56 PM UTC

cylinder wrote: post #4

Bunch of garbage. Enabling tourists to stay in different neighborhoods doesn't grow the economy, it just shifts where some of the money is spent from midtown to downtown.

Or from midtown to Williamsburg.

Actually, I stayed in an AirBnB room for something like $20 a night in east Williamsburg while looking for a long-term apartment. It was cheaper than staying with a friend in White Plains and commuting on Metro-North every day. Not tourism $$, but darned useful to people moving to a new city.