Exclusive | NYC doesnt have enough hotel rooms for FIFA World Cup, must suspend Airbnb restrictions: business leaders

New York City doesn’t have enough hotel rooms for hordes of visitors coming to this summer’s FIFA World Cup and should suspend the current restrictions on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms, business leaders told Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Friday.Groups including the Partnership for New York City and chambers of commerce for all five boroughs say the city must pause its short-term rental laws from June 1 to July 31 so more people can stay in the Big Apple during the games — along with celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary and Fleet Week.The groups said throngs of visitors expected to come for the special events won’t be able to land bookings at the city’s roughly 135,000 hotel rooms, where “occupancy already hovers near 97%.”“Without additional capacity, hotel prices will surge beyond the reach of working families, spending will leak to New Jersey and the suburbs, and neighborhoods hosting events across the outer boroughs — where only 20% of hotel rooms are located — will see visitors but capture none of the overnight economic impact,” states a letter the business groups wrote the elected.“New York will project to the world that it cannot manage the logistics of hospitality at the very moment it is hosting the planet’s biggest stage.”The mayor’s office did not comment on the letter but said the administration will meet with business leaders next week to hear out their concerns ahead of the World Cup.Menin did not immediately answer requests for comment.While home-sharing apps are not technically banned in New York City, the business leaders noted “almost nobody uses them because city laws say the owner has to stay in the apartment with you.” The 2023 short term rental law – aimed at stays of less than 30 days – decimated Airbnb and the rest of the short-term rental market in New York City.It limits the number of guests per booking to two and requires hosts to register wi...