Pursuits
Airbnb Fights for Turf in Hometown San Francisco Housing Wars
- Home-sharing company opposes ballot measure to curb its use
- San Francisco one-bedrooms are renting at $3,500 a month
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Airbnb Inc. is pouring millions into defeating a ballot measure that would curb use of the short-stay home-rental service in its San Francisco backyard.
A crush of highly paid technology workers is driving housing prices beyond the reach of the middle class, even as tourists flock to the short-term rentals instead of pricier hotels. The measure, which would restrict rentals to 75 days a year, has riled politicians at all levels. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein wrote an op-ed supporting the measure, while Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, whom she endorsed, opposes it. So does San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, a fellow Democrat who wrote the ballot argument against the measure, saying the ability to rent out apartments helps people pay their bills.