If you're an out-of-towner having trouble booking an Airbnb in New York City, you can probably blame Local Law 18, which just went into effect.
The new regulation requires hosts of short-term rental properties to register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) before they can rent their properties to guests. The registration process requires owners to meet a specific set of requirements before they can rent out properties for less than 30 days. It also specifically mentions that booking platforms, such as Airbnb, can't allow listings from property owners without registration.
Unfortunately for property owners, the registration process is slow. According to The New York Times, fewer than 300 applications out of 3,250 have been approved as of the end of August. The report says that there are over 15,000 hosts in the city. Any Airbnb host who doesn't get their registrations in order by Dec. 1 will see their properties deactivated on Dec. 2. The math is there, and it says a lot of listings are going to disappear relatively soon.
There is some confusion with New York City law in this instance. Originally, New York City hosts had to reside in the property before they could rent it out for short-term rentals. New York enacted that law nearly a decade ago, although Airbnb tried to fight it. The new law prevents short-term rentals entirely without special registration. The distinction is important because proof that hosts are following the original law is part of the registration process under Local Law 18. Other requirements include having the property up to date on municipal safety codes and other, similar, regulatory requirements.
New York City is not the first to require a license for short-term rental properties. Dallas, Quebec, and Memphis in the US, along with Paris, Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin, have similar licenses or restrictions in place for short-term rentals. Airbnb has fought back against such restrictions tooth and nail but has thus far been unsuccessful everywhere, which now includes the Big Apple.