City Council members accepted thousands of dollars from hotel union ahead of Airbnb bill vote: report

Some members accepted more than $100K

Brian Chesky, Laurie Cumbo, Keith Powers (Credit: Twitter)
Brian Chesky, Laurie Cumbo, Keith Powers (Credit: Twitter)

A new report released by Airbnb shows that City Council members who backed legislation to regulate the home-sharing service and others like it accepted tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from a powerful hotel lobby.

According to the report, Council members Keith Powers and Laurie Cumbo received the most from the New York Hotel Trades Council, each accepting nearly $115,000 during the 2013 and 2017 election cycles. For both members, the sum represented a significant chunk of their direct contributions, which totaled less than $250,000 for each, Crain’s reported.

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The report is part of a campaign launched by Airbnb against legislation that would require Airbnb and similar companies to provide monthly data on booked listings to the city’s Office of Special Enforcement. The information would include hosts’ names and addresses and the addresses and booking numbers for listings.

The bill — which has 40 co-sponsors — is expected to pass. A hearing on the legislation is slated for Tuesday. [Crain’s] — Kathryn Brenzel