Anti Airbnb Law Signals Uncertainty for Slice

Last Friday New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that will make it much harder for Airbnb to operate in the state. New York already prohibits rentals of less than 30 days in a multi-unit building if the tenant is not present – a situation that many Airbnb listings advertise. This new law makes even listing an advertisement for such a situation illegal itself, a tool that some think the state will use to go after Airbnb directly. Bad news for Airbnb given that New York City is its largest market in the US, generating some $1 billion in revenue last year. Recall: Allstate insurer recently started marketing its latest home sharing coverage called HostAdvantage, which is available in: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Utah, via a new endorsement called HostAdvantage. Also, Slice recently launched its on-demand micro-duration home sharing insurance product in Iowa. See below number of available Airbnb rentals in Des Moines vs. NYC for the upcoming weekend. Scale – anywhere to be found?

Bottom Line: Airbnb, the unicorn, is fighting.