Illegal Airbnbs could pull up to 1,500 housing units from Portland each year despite a new city clampdown, according to data from the website InsideAirbnb. Cornelius and his friend Thacher Schmid just published an investigative report in Portland Mercury about illegal Airbnbs and their impact on the Portland housing crisis.
In this special edition podcast, Cornelius and Thacher talk about their story, about the data they used, and why Portlanders still love Airbnb even though most seem to know hosts can make the housing crisis worse.
Full disclosure: Cornelius Swart is in the process of permitting a room in his house as an Airbnb. He ran it as a test over the summer then shut it down. He will live in the house full time and will only rent the room out less than three months a year or so.