Airbnb has reacted to an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in Boston proposed by City Councilor Michelle Wu by sending this e-mail blast to its customers and landlords, encouraging them to contact Mayor Marty Walsh to express resistance to the proposed legislation:

Hi [Recipient name],

Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu has a proposal that would place unreasonable restrictions on home sharing in the city and we need your help to stop it. She has aligned with big hotel interests against the interests of regular Bostonians. Will you use our speakout tool and send an email to Mayor Walsh and City Council today asking them to support responsible home sharing in Boston?

The Wu proposal would place unnecessary restrictions on home sharing by:

• Placing a restrictive 30-day cap on unhosted stays.
• Prohibiting renters from sharing their homes, something not done anywhere else in the United States.
• Requiring notification of neighbors and that platforms like Airbnb collect and share an invasive amount of personal information putting your privacy at risk.

We know that when the collective voice of the Airbnb community is heard by lawmakers, we can stop restrictive and unnecessary laws like this from passing. That’s why sending an email to the Boston City Council today is so important.

Thanks,
The Airbnb Team
Sent with [love] from
Airbnb, Inc.
888 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Councilor Wu dismisses Airbnb's e-mail as "fake news," adding "The current unregulated status quo means that some corporations and individuals are operating de facto hotels out of our housing stock in places where a hotel use violates zoning laws."

You can read the proposed ordinance here.

I believe that resorting to a personal attack on Councilor Wu is going to backfire on Airbnb. (Who in Boston thinks they need advice from somebody in San Francisco about Boston housing?) Stay tuned.