Registration system call

AIRBNB: HOSTING ACTIVITIES MUST BE VISIBLE

- Antoinette Slabbert

Accommodation platform Airbnb last week published research showing that its short-term rentals do not substantially reduce the availability of longer-term rentals in Cape Town, nor do they drive up rent significantly.

It called on government to expedite the creation of a host registration system "that would give authorities better visibility of hosting activity in their area and inform additional measures where needed".

This seems to be a proactive strike after several global cities introduced restrictions on short-term rentals on the assumption that they displace units that would otherwise be available for city residents to rent for long-term residence.

These measures vary from limiting the number of nights that hosts may rent (90 in London and 30 in Amsterdam) to geographical limits. In San Diego, no more than 30% of housing units may be used for short-term rentals, while the cap is as low as 1% in other parts.