Airbnb is on the warpath - with a number of hotel chains receiving letters from the company this week.
To say that there's a contentious relationship between the hotel industry and Airbnb is an understatement, but the latest move by the company comes at an interesting juncture in the proceedings.
First of all, Airbnb head of public policy Josh Meltzer wrote to Marriott's CEO claiming that the chain is "unwilling and unable to defend your industry's longstanding commitment to price gouging consumers, depressing wages and replacing workers with
robots".
In a letter dated two days ago, Josh told Arne Sorenson that he'd seen the boss of the chain's interview with Fortune magazine, in which Sorenson says that he doesn't believe Airbnb had become more willing to make concessions or cooperate with hotel regulators.
"I don’t know that I see that they’re more willing to concede. [Airbnb] is spending a lot of money on government affairs and they’re playing pretty aggressive. I’ve had letters from Airbnb directly, demanding my response about some charge. That’s pretty
aggressive, and I’m not going to respond to that," he told the magazine.
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Meltzer, in return, fired back at Sorenson, claiming that his feelings of "aggression" stem from the fact that Airbnb released a report on the hotel industry's practice of taking taxpayer subsidies to fund the construction and operation of the hotels.
"From 2008-2016, you have generated $4.6 billion in profits," Meltzer writes. "While you may be unwilling to discuss this matter with me, I do hope you will tell American taxpayers more about these practices. The men and women who have helped subsidize
your business, along with the nearly $12.3 million you personally earned in 2016, deserve an explanation."
A full copy of Meltzer's letter is below.
Meltzer, perhaps, has other reasons to send such a strongly worded letter to Sorenson - particularly since a leaked American Hotel & Lodging Association document went into explicit detail about how the hotel industry planned to circumvent the growth of Airbnb.
Marriott, which is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, was also one of the hotels that was part of an ad campaign that suggested that Airbnb could be used to host potential terrorists.
Marriott is understand to have not responded to Meltzer's letter as yet.
Your industry's comments on safety and security are about as credible as Ebenezer Scrooge lecturing on the meaning of goodwill and kindness.
Chris Lehane - Airbnb
The letter to Marriott was joined by others to Hyatt, Intercontinental Hotels Group and "a range of other hotel companies".
To Hyatt CEO and president Mark Hoplamazian, Airbnb claims "hotels have a history of opening their doors to bad actors who have committed horrible acts".
This is in relation to concerns over security and safety of guests after hotel lobbyists recently claimed short-term rentals do not have proper protocols in place to protect owners and users.
Airbnb head of global policy and public affairs, Chris Lehane, says in the letter to Hyatt:
"Our real-time detection system uses machine learning and predictive analysis to instantly evaluate hundreds of signals to flag and address suspicious activity.
"Do your hotels perform similar analyses to help stop problems before that start? If not, why not?"
Airbnb Letter by CNBC.com on Scribd