Thread by @originalspin

@bchesky Not being snarky here: Please launch an initiative to help the immense number of people who’ve been unhoused due to market conditions that AirBnB helped create, and that Covid turned into a crisis.

I don’t know what it looks like. Funding shelter operations? Building tiny homes?

https://twitter.com/bchesky/status/1477764672640073728

@bchesky A 2017 Zillow study showed that homelessness rises in cities where rents exceed a third of the average income, and each median rent increase of $100 increases homelessness by anywhere from 6% to 32%.
zillow.com/research/homel…

@bchesky Other studies have shown a 1% increase in AirBnB listings drives up rent by about 0.02% per month, or an average of $9. In LA, listings have soared over the past few years—LA is the fourth most profitable AirBnB territory in the nation, per your own data.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

@bchesky But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Airbnb’s impact: nearly half your listings are in just 7 areas in LA: Venice, Downtown, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Echo Park, Silver Lake. All have soaring rents—and growing unhoused populations.
uclalawreview.org/los-angeles-di…

@bchesky Consider finding a way to work with LA’s municipal and nonprofit community to find and fund a broad, sustained, strategic solution to provide homes for the unhoused population. In the short run, it would be good for Airbnb’s brand, and in the long run, for your business.

@bchesky Your sarcasm is misplaced, dude, since the studies are focused on determining how MUCH rent increases impact homelessness, not whether.

Airbnb can’t solve the problem alone, but they could certainly put their money and clout towards helping a crisis they’ve exacerbated.

https://twitter.com/persianpundit/status/1477904073777192962

@bchesky Airbnb isn’t the only factor impacting homelessness, or even the prime one. But they contributed to the problem and should contribute to a solution. Is your proposal to ban them? Not going to happen—and I bet you’ve stayed in an Airbnb.

As for dystopias: Take a good look around?

https://twitter.com/mayavada/status/1477903614446239744