With some still debating the impact of the individual room-rental service on the local hotel industry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashton Kutcher and other Hollywood big names will join Airbnb’s annual “community gathering” in downtown Los Angeles beginning Thursday.
People who make money renting out their rooms, houses or condos, and people spend money renting those residences, will “explore the future of travel and hospitality.”
According to the company, the third Airbnb Open will continue through Saturday and “combine visionary talks and company updates with music, art and food, celebrating the very best of this eclectic and resurgent city.”
Numerous events will take place at different locations, mostly around downtown Los Angeles, including Clifton’s restaurant and a number of spectacularly rebuilt old movie theaters, such as the Orpheum and the Theatre at the Ace Hotel.
Last year, Airbnb welcomed more than 5,000 hosts from 110 countries to its gathering held in Paris, France.
“This year, Airbnb plans to expand the scope of the Airbnb Open, welcoming both hosts and guests from its community as well as local Angelenos and others to explore the future of travel and hospitality,” according to the company.
Founded in August 2008 and based in San Francisco, Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list and book accommodations in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries.
Confirmed guest speakers during the three-day Los Angeles event include actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashton Kutcher, movie producer Brian Grazer, author Elizabeth Gilbert (“Eat Pray Love”), TOMS shoe company founder Blake Mycoskie and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer.
“This year’s Airbnb Open will be a seminal moment for our community as we announce our vision for the future of hosting and travel,” said Airbnb co- founder and CEO Brian Chesky.
“As the first ever global festival of hosting, the Open will bring together hosts and guests from across the globe in one of the most creative places in the world, Los Angeles,” he said. “The city will be an open canvas for them to explore for three days of education, connection and celebration.”
Events locations include four historic theaters in the downtown area.
The event comes amid debate over the service and its impact on affordable housing and the hotel industry.
In July, Airbnb reached a three-year agreement with the city to collect and pay hotel taxes on behalf of its Los Angeles hosts. The arrangement took effect Aug. 1, with Airbnb responsible for paying the hotel taxes — also known as “transient occupancy taxes” — that are owed by hosts who rent out rooms and properties through the company’s website and smartphone applications.
City finance officials estimated the taxes could bring in at least $5.8 million in annual revenue.
But a coalition representing hotels, labor, affordable housing activists and others has been urging city leaders to back out of the deal, saying it sends a mixed message for the city to be collecting taxes from an industry it doesn’t regulate. The group argued that the deal should be scrubbed until the city approves an ordinance imposing regulations on Airbnb operations.
“The agreement with Airbnb gives legitimacy to an illegal industry that the City Council determined cannot continue to go unregulated,” the groups said. “This type of arrangement also makes enforcement of the proposed ordinance more difficult.”
—City News Service