New York hotel industry commercial links Airbnb to terrorisums

The Hotel Association of New York City is apparently escalating its ongoing conflict with the home-sharing provider Airbnb. According to the news agency Pressetext, a report in the New York Daily News reveals that the hotel association has dug deep into its own pockets and produced a commercial for around 500,000 dollars, which could finally bring the conflict between the two opponents to a boil. In the 30-second clip, Airbnb is associated with terrorism in order to scare off potential customers.

The commercial in question, which was shown on several cable networks for a total of ten days since July 31, quotes numerous news reports that refer, or at least could refer, to Airbnb in a negative context. Among them, for example, is the Manchester attack. The commercial is supposed to convince with scary questions like "Who's in your building? Airbnb won't tell!".

Competition yes, low-level behavior no

The polarizing spot pushed Josh Meltzer, Airbnb's director of public relations, to respond quickly. He penned a letter to many hotels that are members of the association. "First and foremost, Airbnb had nothing to do with the sad incident in Manchester. And it is despicable to use this tragedy for a cynical corporate PR campaign," Meltzer wrote. Further, he stressed that it's fine to be in competition with each other. But using a global terrorist attack to protect and better portray oneself is beneath contempt, he said, and has no place in social discourse.

Conflict for some time

The dispute between Airbnb and the hotel industry has been heating up for quite some time. The industry has accused the home-sharing group of operating illegal hotels for several years, although the company always presents itself as a significant establishment for the middle class. Airbnb, in turn, accuses hotels of cheating travelers on prices.

Due to Airbnb's high market value, which is around $30 billion, and the demands of significant regulations on home-sharing providers from hoteliers in places like New York, it's unlikely that this feud will end soon. (pte/hae)