Airbnb and entities with ties to it shelled out $12 million to LA politicians and their causes in 2025. One of the goals is to convince the city to temporarily lift its strict homesharing restrictions, which date to 2018, in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Airbnb would be able to expand its reach and pick off some of the accommodations revenue that the influx of visitors would generate.
But critics are concerned that any temporary lifting of the rules would provide momentum to ease them permanently.
Airbnb wouldn’t mind at all if that indeed took place.
Skift Aviation Forum
The decisions shaping global air travel get made in the room, not in the earnings call after.
Next week, the 6th annual Skift Aviation Forum brings the leaders of IAG, American Airlines, Air Canada, Airbus, Boeing, and Breeze Airways to the TWA Hotel at JFK for one day on what’s next for the industry.
SPONSORED · CAPITAL ONE TRAVEL
At Skift Global Forum, Capital One Travel’s Sarah Moore explained how travel cards can become full-trip companions.
Headlines
Booking Takes $1 Billion Hit Over Possible FTC Settlement, Sees ‘Mixed’ Travel Market
November 3, 2026
Why Airbnb Is Spending Big on LA Elections
November 3, 2026
Why We’ve Been Looking at the Hotel Brands vs. OTAs War All Wrong
November 3, 2026
Wyndham Launches Homes & Havens to Take On Marriott
October 29, 2026
Vrbo Launches Reserve Now, Pay Later — With a Twist on Airbnb’s Approach
October 28, 2026
Airbnb.org Aims for 1 Million Free Nights a Year, Funded Partly by a Dime a Booking
October 28, 2026
Watch or Listen
Airbnb is rewriting what hosts can ask of guests. Michael Goldin explains what it means for guest data.
On Good Morning Hospitality, A Skift Podcast, hosts Michael Goldin and Jamie Lane react to Airbnb’s first house rules policy, effective November 20. Hosts get seven standard house rules and are generally not allowed to ask guests to wash dishes, strip beds or take out the trash, and they can’t keep copies of guest IDs. Michael says the changes are aimed at protecting Airbnb’s relationship with the guest. He discusses whether hosts could turn off Wi-Fi for Airbnb guests, and why operators still capture booker data and every guest’s email address on the other 75% of their bookings. At Kismet, he says, those emails turn into bookings time and time again, because a guest doesn’t have to be the primary booker. He also says Airbnb doesn’t control the product but is trying to control it at a granular level.
Skift Travel 200
How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
