Short-Term Rental Lessons for New York From Amsterdam

06.12.2023 - 04:27 / skift.com / Srividya Kalyanaraman

Let’s face it: New York is hardly the first city to impose regulations on short-term rentals. Today is the official deadline for hosts to register their listings.

Attempts to regulate short-term rentals around the world may have lessons — and implications. While it may still be early to measure the impact of these restrictions on New York City’s short-term rental market, there are cues to be taken from similar laws passed in other cities around the world. 

Let’s take Amsterdam, for instance: In January 2017, the Dutch city initiated its first restrictions on vacation rentals. Any full-apartment listings that had accommodated 60 or more overnight stays in a year were automatically removed from platforms like Airbnb until the following year, with enforcement by Airbnb. Then, in July 2020, Amsterdam took additional measures to rebalance tourist and local dynamics. Amsterdam prohibited Airbnb and similar platforms in three city districts and mandated permits elsewhere, limiting tourist rentals to a maximum of 30 nights annually.

How has this July 2020 decision impacted local short-term rental listings? According to a study conducted by short-term rental data provider Transparent, the primary metric to assess is the supply of listings. Naturally, transitioning from a potential of 360 days of rental income to 60, and subsequently further reducing it to 30, would deter many property owners. And it did —  the number of properties listed in Amsterdam has declined by 70% since January 2019 and by 61% since the introduction of the latest regulations in July 2020.

And although there was a temporary decline in the percentage of professionally managed listings just before the regulatory change, likely due to owners reevaluating their participation, the chart below also illustrates a gradual increase in professionalization, with a 13% rise in the proportion of professionally managed listings between 2019 and 2021.

Amsterdam Listings Count Between 2019-2021

Moreover, there was a noticeable decrease in average daily rates as the restriction deadline approached, as owners tried to maximize their occupancy rates. However, in the six months following the restriction’s implementation, nightly rates surged by 24% compared to their pre-restriction levels.

Property operations platform Breezeway has partnered with Airbnb to offer a software solution for hosts and property managers. Breezeway uses Airbnb’s reviews API to link guest reviews with specific tasks, helping hosts identify areas for improvement. This partnership is designed to simplify preparation and communication, allowing hosts to manage Airbnb messages, provide detailed property information, and automate guest notifications among other automated tasks.

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