- Title: Airbnb wins fight to remain exempt from European property rules
- Date: 19th December 2019
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 20, 2018) (REUTERS) INTERNET USER TYPING 'AIRBNB' INTO GOOGLE AND VISITING AIRBNB WEBSITE AIRBNB WEBSITE DISPLAYED ON LAPTOP SCREEN
- Embargoed: 2nd January 2020 11:43
- Keywords: CJEU Court Court of Justice of the European Union EU European Court of Justice France Trinal U.S. homesharing site Airbnb online platform property agent property regulations ruling tourism
- Location: LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG / PARIS, FRANCE / SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG / PARIS, FRANCE / SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Luxembourg
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA004BAN713B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. homesharing site Airbnb on Thursday (December 19) won its battle to remain exempt from onerous European property regulations, as the EU's top court ruled it was an online platform and not a property agent.
The case came before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) following a complaint by French tourism association AHTOP.
Judges in essence accepted the company's arguments that it is an online platform and not a property agent.
The CJEU President Koen Lenaerts said that Airbnb Ireland should be regarded as an "Information Society Service" which would benefit from the EU's policies on free movement of information.
For Airbnb, the French case is significant as the International Olympic Committee has agreed to promote the company for accommodation during the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Founded in 2008 in San Francisco and with an EU base in Ireland, Airbnb matches people wishing to rent out all or part of their homes to temporary guests, via a website.
France is Airbnb's second-largest market after the United States with Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world, its biggest single market, with around 65,000 homes listed.
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