In September of this year, Airbnb launched their City Portal, a first-of-its-kind solution built exclusively for governments and tourism organisations.
‘In just a few months, we’ve reached a new milestone: Today, 40 local and national governments and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) access and utilize the Portal,’ Airbnb said.
The City Portal, which includes tools and local data, directly connects users to the Airbnb platform and provides them with:
- Local and global Airbnb data insights into short-term rental market characteristics and remitted tourist tax revenue in places where tax agreements have been established.
- Compliance tools to help governments develop and manage fair short-term rental policies and regulations.
- A central location for resources such as the Airbnb Neighborhood Support Hotline and Law Enforcement portal.
- Direct access to an Airbnb team member, providing one-to-one support with City Portal or issues that arise locally.
Since launching with cities, counties, and tourism organisations like San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Visit Denmark, and Wesgro (Western Cape of South Africa), Airbnb is working with new entities including European tourism hubs, such as the City of Rome, Greece, and the UK. In North America and South America, new organizations accessing the City Portal include Santa Catarina Tourism Development Agency (SANTUR), Visit Denver, Experience Scottsdale, City of Sacramento, County of Kauai, and Toronto, among others.
‘We appreciate Airbnb’s commitment to working with us and building on our relationship by creating the City Portal. The Portal is a ‘one-stop shop,’ making enforcement much more efficient by allowing us to view listings and assess compliance. Being able to work with Airbnb on a citywide scale will be a big help to us, hopefully having a positive effect throughout the industry,’ said Tessa St. John, program manager, City of Sacramento.
‘The City Portal is a game-changer. We’ve been working with Airbnb for quite some time and we very much appreciate these new resources. The tools allow us to work together to increase transparency and enforcement in Kauai,’ Ka`āina Hull, Director of Planning, County of Kauai.
As cities around the world deal with the economic fallout and lost tourism tax revenues from the current COVID-19 pandemic, we’re committed to promoting responsible, safe travel to boost recovery and provide a source of needed income for everyday people.
‘We look forward to working with current and future governments and tourism organizations to improve the City Portal and expand its benefits,’ Airbnb said.
Picture: Unsplash
