.png?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Airbnb buys M HQ in New York – after city’s strict clampdown on company’s short-term rentals – UK Times")
Airbnb reportedly bought its first Manhattan office building despite its long-running battle with New York City leaders over short-term rental rules.
The vacation rental company paid $81.5 million for its first New York City office building, purchasing the six-story, 42,500-square-foot property at 281 Park Avenue South near Gramercy Park, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Previous reports disclosed the sale price but did not identify Airbnb as the buyer.
“This building reflects our long-term commitment to the city and will be home to one of our largest employee hubs outside of San Francisco,” Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky said in a statement to the WSJ.
“We’re excited to keep investing in the city and the people who make it extraordinary,” Chesky added.
The Independent has contacted Airbnb for comment.
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The purchase comes after years of tension between Airbnb and New York City, which has some of the nation’s toughest short-term rental rules.
In 2023, the city began enforcing Local Law 18, which requires most hosts to register with the city and sharply limits many Airbnb-style rentals. The rules dramatically reduced the number of short-term listings available, with city officials arguing the restrictions help protect housing supply and prevent apartments from operating as unlicensed hotels.
Airbnb has strongly opposed those restrictions, arguing they prevent residents from earning extra income by renting out their homes and do little to solve New York’s housing affordability problems.
Airbnb has spent millions on political efforts to ease New York’s short-term rental rules, including a $10 million contribution to its Affordable New York PAC. The group later spent $1 million on ads targeting mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Scott Stringer and Brad Lander, accusing them of ignoring solutions to make housing more affordable.
Despite maintaining a flexible “work anywhere” policy that allows employees to work remotely or relocate without changes to their pay, Airbnb said many New York-area employees still prefer gathering in person, the WSJ reports.
The company employs more than 600 people in the New York region and said the new building will provide a larger space for teams to collaborate, although working from the office will remain optional, according to the outlet.
Airbnb paid about 63 percent more for the building than the seller did in 2014, standing out in a Manhattan office market where many properties have lost value in recent years, according to data and analytics firm MSCI.
Some may recognize the landmarked Beaux-Arts style building, originally built in 1894 and renovated in 2019, because of its connection to fraudster Anna Sorokin, better known as Anna Delvey.
Sorokin once attempted to lease the property for a private members’ club before her scheme fell apart. In 2019, she was convicted of defrauding banks, hotels and friends out of more than $200,000, and served four years in a New York state prison after being found guilty of grand larceny and theft of services.
