‘Airbnb Queen’ Says She’s Caught Up in Platform’s New York Feud
City sued Martine Lacroix for running an illegal hotel empire in violation of what she calls ‘a petty little law’
Airbnb Inc. declared a cease-fire last year in its long-running feud with New York City over short-term rentals. But for Martine Lacroix, the self-proclaimed “Airbnb Queen,” the bullets are still flying.
The online home-sharing company spent years sparring with the city inside courtrooms and council chambers over a state law that forbids rentals of most apartments for less than 30 days. In June 2020, as Airbnb was preparing for its public markets debut, it settled a lawsuit against the city, agreeing to hand over personal data on its hosts so officials could more easily track those renting apartments in violation of the regulations.