Airbnb Claims NYC Crackdown Hasn't Delivered

Social media is a great way to plan for and dream up future vacations; the aesthetically pleasing images and trip inspiration on platforms like Instagram allow us to get an inside look at other travelers’ holidays while sorting out exactly what we want our own trips to look like.

If you’ve ever dreamed of getting lost in a whimsical work of art or sleeping in a fairyland, your dream can come true at the The Kelsey Montague Art Experience, also known as the Gulch Wings Home. It’s an Airbnb unlike any other, and it’s the brainchild of Kelsey and Courtney Montague who are sisters and business partners in the venture.

New York CIty's hottest restaurant now boasts an extra personal touch for vino lovers.

When it comes to Airbnb’s decline in New York City because of a defacto ban, two nearby cities – Newark and Jersey City – are taking advantage.

Local governments in Virginia claim that Airbnb has been violating state law by refusing to provide basic tax information for over a year. 

Mark your calendars: On April 8, 2024, a rare total solar eclipse will cut a path across the continent beginning with Mexico, passing through the US, and exiting through Canada. The line of totality for this celestial phenomenon will cross through 13 US states with some areas seeing a maximum totality of over four minutes (including Bloomington, Indiana, and Mesquite, Texas). So, there are plenty of chances to observe the eclipse as it arches from Texas to Maine, hitting Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire on the way.

New York City’s Office of Special Enforcement says it has now decided on 90% applications from potential short-term rental hosts as part of regulations that kicked in last September. 

On Valentine’s Day, even the most elegant New York City hotel dining rooms raise the bar in terms of their culinary offerings.

From Barton Creek in Austin, Texas to Switzerland's Aare river, urban waterways around the world offer a cool reprieve from city heat—allowing residents and visitors alike to enjoy the various benefits that swimming affords. But even the boldest of New Yorkers, on the hottest of days, wouldn’t dare jump into the city’s rivers of their own accord.

Happy Thursday, folks! Hope you’re having a great week so far. Has it been as busy for you as it’s been for us? Today our lead item comes all the way from the Middle East. Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia brings funding news, linking the UAE and San Francisco. Also on the agenda today is Airbnb’s new housing council – Executive Editor Dennis Schaal has the deets.

A scroll through what’s on offer in New York City under Airbnb’s “Experiences” tab reveals little of value in the way of adrenaline or anthropological knowledge—the two reasons to experience anything, in my opinion. If you want to pose for some digital photography, you can do so beneath the Brooklyn Bridge on Dumbo’s cobblestoned streets or sprawled alluringly across a Central Park lawn. You can book a crawl through Manhattan’s “secret bars” and speakeasies (drinks not included). Having seen my colleagues sail the Adriatic and traverse Rio’s rainforests by bike for this series, I wanted to find something in our own city—the best city, if you hadn’t heard—that was at least as interesting, if not as exhilarating. Only one listing caught my eye—a walking tour of Hasidic Brooklyn.

Airbnb clearly doesn’t want a repeat of New York City’s defacto ban on short-term rentals in other destinations. So it announced the Airbnb Housing Council to better balance its own interests with those of U.S. cities and other communities.