July 03–SAN DIEGO — Airbnb, the website that allows owners to rent out their properties to short-term renters, expects to see 70 percent more rentals than on a typical weekend during this year’s Comic-Con International.
During Comic-Con 2014, the company booked nearly 800 reservations for 1,800 guests in almost 700 locations.
This year, they expect to triple it, according to a company spokeswoman: As of June 21, the company had already booked almost 2,200 reservations for 5,800 guests in nearly 2,000 listings.
That’s a big jump, but still a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of 130,000 Comic-Con attendees, who will spend a total of 59,228 hotel room nights, according to Charles Chamberlayne, spokesman for San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Airbnb’s explosive growth since 2008 has put it in the crosshairs of both affordable housing proponents and the hospitality industry. Santa Monica and San Francisco have recently pass regulations restricting short-term rentals in their cities and after this year’s convention, things will tighten up in San Diego, as well.
“We are pleased that Airbnb is taking steps to come into compliance with existing city regulations regarding future collection of transient occupancy taxes and tourism marketing district assessments,” City Treasurer Gail Granewich said in an emailed statement. “Starting on July 15, Airbnb will automatically begin collecting and remitting transient occupancy taxes and tourism marketing district assessments on a go-forward basis for San Diego property owners who use Airbnb’s services for short-term rentals. The city will continue to seek a resolution of owed back taxes and remains in discussions with Airbnb.”
