In a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal titled “Why a Hotel Room in NY Costs $500,” Michael Salinger (CRA consultant and Boston University professor) and co-author Jon Leibowitz (former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission) discuss the economic costs on New York City’s restrictions on short-term rentals (STR).
Salinger and Leibowitz explain how STR restrictions benefit hotels but impose costs on potential hosts, their guests, and the many businesses and employees who would provide goods and services to hosts and their guests. The article builds on findings in a report by Salinger and a CRA team titled “Special interests vs. the public interest: The cost of STR restrictions on households, cities, and visitors.” The report offers a data-driven perspective on how restrictive policy decisions on STRs in major US cities benefit special interests but impose substantial but more widely dispersed costs on others.
