S.F., Airbnb reach pact on vacation rentals

The land-use conflict arising from vacation rentals can be resolved — or, at least, San Francisco has managed to settle the issue for itself.

On Monday that city announced it had reached a settlement ending a federal lawsuit brought by Airbnb and HomeAway, the largest rental brokers, against San Francisco’s law regulating short-term rentals.

According to a release from the City Attorney of San Francisco office, here are the conditions:

>> To list a rental on the sites, residents must provide the short-term rental registration number, or the pending application status.

>> Airbnb and HomeAway will be able to offer rental owners advertising on the sites access to a registration application system that passes through information to the city office.

>> Airbnb and HomeAway will give the city’s Office of Short-Term Rentals a monthly list of all San Francisco listings, with enough information to allow the city to verify registration.

>> Airbnb and HomeAway will cancel future stays and deactivate listings after receiving notice from the city of an invalid registration.

Of course the difference is that San Francisco has a registration system in place to ensure that rental units meet regulations, and the same cannot be said for all of Hawaii’s counties.

Something similar is possible here, said Matt Middlebrook, Airbnb’s public policy manager.

“We believe we can work with local officials in Hawaii to develop sensible regulations that balance the benefits of home sharing with the need to implement reasonable enforcement,” he said.