Thread by @WIRED

In cities across the nation, secret networks of hosts are making a LOT of money using Airbnb to turn homes into illegal & dangerous de facto hotel rooms.

Here is how one scheme in NYC deceived 60,000+ guests & evaded detection for over 4 years: 1/ wired.trib.al/nZvtyU0

Unlike most of NYC's illegal Airbnb empires, this one targeted many low-cost/ rent-stabilized buildings in Queens, Brooklyn, and Harlem. Apts in these 36 buildings were illegally converted into full-time Airbnbs. 2/ wired.trib.al/nZvtyU0

NYC officials were only able to uncover just how bad it was after subpoenaing Airbnb for data. Luckily, Airbnb had recently softened its historically combative approach to data-sharing requests. This is what they found: 3/ wired.trib.al/nZvtyU0

A group of 9 friends & family members created 28 Airbnb host accounts to hide their illegal activity, officials say. The ring leader alone allegedly used 14 accounts to book 3,872 reservations at 73 Airbnb listings, earning him $878,510. 4/
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The group allegedly coached guests to mislead and ignore enforcement agents tasked with finding illegal short-term rentals. They hung posters in the common-spaces that said: “do not answer their questions... DO NOT LET ANYONE IN THE HOUSE. Let’s keep Airbnb alive! :) ” 5/

But inspectors still came. They found one 3 story building illegally converted into 12 rooms equipped with 24 beds. 3 guests were trapped in the building. They discovered a gas leak and the building was partially shuttered for being “imminently perilous.” 6/

Many of the people involved with this particular operation had been slapped with fines and violations by NYC officials before, but that didn’t stop them, the city says. In a recently filed lawsuit, officials claim the money was just too good. 7/

One challenge? Account holders often listed inaccurate address info for the Airbnb rentals, making it hard for officials to determine the locations. That meant the investigation rested on getting data from Airbnb.

Get the full story here: 8/ wired.trib.al/nZvtyU0