Airbnb chief predicts no quick fix to New York clampdown

NEW YORK, United States — Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky said Wednesday he does not see a swift end to the strict limits recently imposed by New York, even as they significantly restrict the home-sharing site's rentals in the city.

A local law banning rentals for less than 30 days except under strict exemptions went into effect early this month, and the controversial crackdown has triggered a plunge in short-term rentals on the platform in one of the company's largest markets.

"I think New York unfortunately is not going to be resolved anytime soon," Chesky, chief executive of Airbnb, told US television outlet CNBC.

"It was the first city we had challenge (from authorities) in 2010 and maybe the last one that gets resolved."

The Big Apple introduced the measure in response to soaring city rents amid a shortage of rental units.

Chesky sought to downplay the impact of the law on his 15-year-old company's bottom line, saying the United States' most populous city, a cultural and international tourism hub, is no longer in the platform's top three destinations, which are now Paris, London and Los Angeles.

"Thirteen years ago, (New York) was like 70, 80 percent of our business. Now it's a very small percent of our business," he said.

Chesky stressed that no city in the world accounted for more than 1.5 percent of revenues generated by the San Francisco-based group.

"I think things are actually calmer than they have been in the past" -- notwithstanding a few specific cities, he said.

"We're always going to be regulated," he said. But he added his company would likely "be at the table" with local authorities in dialogue about business practices so long as Airbnb has a sufficient share of a rental market.