As more cities consider imposing restrictions on short-term lodging in private residences, purveyors of the service, like Airbnb, have not been idle. This year, for the first time, Airbnb and others have registered lobbyists in Sacramento and, according to a recent report in the Orange County Register, "Airbnb reported spending more than $67,000 on lobbying through the first half of this year."
But traditional hoteliers are way ahead of them. According to recent data, the hotel and restaurant industry spent $3.4 million on state lobbying on a number of issues last year — including the ill-fated Senate Bill 593, which aimed to tax short-term rentals the same as hotel rooms.
