Like Weed, AirBNB Poicy in New York is another fiasco

After implementing recreational marijuana policies that cost tens of millions of dollars in legal transactions, New York City has descended into another political debacle. It appears that policymakers in the Big Apple and the Empire State live in a utopia in which they can safely develop the best, healthiest policies. Then WHAM is transferred to the real world and becomes the subject of stand-up comedy.

New York’s beleaguered launch of a recreational marijuana marketplace suffered another setback when a state Supreme Court justice issued a preliminary injunction that will block regulators from processing new applications for retail licenses under a program the Richter is “legally endangered”. After the development of a policy and the approval of the cannabis business community, particularly those who hold a medical marijuana license, everything was scrapped at the very last minute and converted to a “free for all” license. This led to over 1,500 healthy, profitable, unlicensed dispensaries opening in NYC alone, including near City Hall. And no one pays city or state taxes.

Now the focus is on short-term rentals in New York City with a particular focus on AirBnB.

The city will begin enforcing its short-term rental registration law on Sept. 5, which requires short-term renters to register with the mayor’s office of special enforcement. The law, passed in January 2022, could significantly limit visitors’ accommodation choices. Common sense dictates that if you want to begin enforcing a law, you must have the staff in place to implement it and ensure a smooth transition.

According to Inside Airbnb, a watchdog group that monitors the booking platform, the number of short-term rentals on Airbnb has fallen by more than 80 percent, from 22,434 in August to just 3,227 as of October 1. But only 417 properties have been registered with the city, suggesting that very few of the city’s short-term rental properties have received approval to continue operating.

RELATED: TSA and Cannabis: What You Need to Know

Like the marijuana industry, landlords are smart and recognize that the understaffed city doesn’t really have any teeth. Hosts are using social media to rent directly to customers (you can only imagine the results for some of these guests) and smaller sites are seeing an increase in new sign-ups. New York’s crackdown has created a “black market” for short-term rentals not unlike the marijuana industry.

RELATED: Why Some People Don’t Get High the First Time They Smoke Marijuana

The supply and demand of hotels and AirBnB have not changed; in fact, they have only become partially illegal. The ultimate loser of the game is most likely tourism for the city.