Supporters say the plan could generate about $80 million in tax revenue annually, especially as tourists descend on Los Angeles for the 2026 World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can generate millions in new tourism revenue dedicated for L.A.\u2019s long-term recovery \u2014 paid for by tourists, not taxpayers,\u201d the website says.<\/p>\n
Fliers for the campaign, which urges the City Council to amend the short-term rental ordinance to include second homes, list as supporters a broad coalition of groups, from unions like Teamsters Local 911 to the business-aligned Central City Assn.<\/p>\n
Conspicuously absent from the website and fliers is Airbnb, the short-term rental giant that is a backer of the campaign and would profit from the change. <\/p>\n
Nick Gerber, an organizer for the hotel and restaurant workers union Unite Here Local 11, which opposes the campaign, said that when a canvasser knocked on his door, he asked who the campaign\u2019s supporters were. He knew the campaign involved short-term rentals, so he was surprised not to see Airbnb\u2019s name. <\/p>\n
\u201cI looked at the back of the shirt with all the [organizations] listed and did not see any of these short-term rental companies, but right away, I thought this was clearly something they were behind,\u201d Gerber said.<\/p>\n
City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Mart\u00ednez, a former Unite Here organizer, said he learned of Save Our Services when he came across a flier in his parents\u2019 South L.A. neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say Airbnb on it, but this is something that Airbnb has been pushing for years, and they\u2019re using what I think is pretty deceptive tactics to try to get sympathy from the public,\u201d Soto-Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n
When the City Council debated a home sharing ordinance<\/a> in 2018, Airbnb pushed for second homes to be included. But the council limited the final version to primary residences<\/a>, in part to avoid decreasing the number of long-term rental properties amid a housing crisis. <\/p>\n Airbnb confirmed that it is involved in Save Our Services but declined to say whether it has contributed any money to the campaign and did not respond to questions about its exact role. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty simple: new tax revenue from tourists can give Los Angeles much-needed funding for city services and union jobs that are at risk,\u201d said Justin Wesson, senior public policy manager for Airbnb. <\/p>\n Wesson said that Airbnb has organized a \u201cdiverse coalition\u201d for the campaign and will continue to \u201csupport practical short-term rental policies that balance the benefits of tourism with community needs.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign does not appear to be registered with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, according to the commission\u2019s website, and Airbnb did not immediately respond to a question about whether the campaign has registered.<\/p>\n Anyone who spends $5,000 or more to attempt to influence municipal legislation, and who is not a lobbyist, is required to register with the commission as a \u201cmajor filer\u201d and report their spending.<\/p>\n A commission spokesperson said there was no record of a major filer report from Airbnb after 2016.<\/p>\n A flier for the Save Our Services campaign. Fliers have been spotted all across the city and canvassers have polled residents on whether they would support a change to the city\u2019s short-term rental laws. <\/p>\n (Noah Goldberg \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Airbnb said in an email that 70% of the 50,000 people polled by canvassers supported the Save Our Services campaign. <\/p>\n The campaign website notes that the additional tax revenue would come in two streams: an estimated $38 million from the sales tax generated by tourists spending money at local businesses and another $41 million from the transient occupancy tax of 14% on short-term rentals. <\/p>\n The city of Los Angeles faced a $1-billion budget<\/a> shortfall this year, closing the gap through proposed layoffs and other cuts<\/a>. The financial woes are likely to continue for several years, amid weak tax revenues, skyrocketing legal payouts<\/a> and increasingly expensive union contracts.<\/a> <\/p>\n Critics of Save Our Services said that Airbnb hosts often evade the transient occupancy tax and that the city should step up its enforcement of the tax instead of opening up more homes for short-term rentals.<\/p>\n Randy Renick, executive director of Better Neighbors LA, which focuses on regulating short-term rentals, said evading the tax is \u201cthe fundamental issue,\u201d with some Airbnb hosts claiming their residences are outside city limits. <\/p>\n Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here, which is part of the Better Neighbors LA coalition, said an increase in short-term rentals would exacerbate the city\u2019s housing shortage by removing units from the long-term market. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are facing a housing crisis for working people, and this only makes it worse,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThe way for the city to address its budget crisis is to enforce existing laws, fining the landlords who illegally convert housing to hotels, and making sure the platforms actually pay the taxes they avoid.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n