Airbnb Has Spent $7.1 Million on Los Angeles Elections While Pushing a Short-Term Rental Expansion

Airbnb is spending heavily in Los Angeles politics just as the city weighs a plan that would let second homes be rented out during major events. The vote on who runs City Hall comes on November 3, so the timing matters for anyone operating short-term rentals in the city.

An analysis by Capital & Main, reported by Short Term Rentalz, found that Airbnb's Committee to Expand the Middle Class has given about $7.1 million to independent expenditure committees. The money backs Mayor Karen Bass and candidates in three other local contests. The company also supported Traci Park, who kept her City Council seat in the June primary. Capital & Main also reports that Airbnb has spent almost $4.2 million on lobbying in Los Angeles over 18 months, mostly on the rental proposal.

That proposal is a limited Vacation Rental Programme. Los Angeles now allows short-term rentals only in primary homes. The programme would open second homes to visitors during big events, including the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Vacation rentals would be capped at 1% of the city's housing supply, and the policy would end on December 31, 2028. Homes would qualify only if the host owned them before the end of 2025, and rent-controlled and affordable homes would be excluded.

Airbnb argues the expansion could bring in up to $110 million in transient occupancy taxes. Spokesperson Justin Wesson said the political spending supports candidates who back local economies and home sharing.

Critics say more rentals could pull homes off the housing market and make affordability worse. Some city officials doubt the plan would raise much extra tax money without bringing in more visitors.

The proposal is still before the Budget and Finance Committee and the Planning and Land Use Management Committee. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the latter, has said it will not get a hearing until city departments report on tightening enforcement of the current home-sharing rules. Mayor Bass supports a temporary expansion for Olympic visitors, while her challenger Nithya Raman has criticized plans to loosen the restrictions.

For Los Angeles operators, nothing changes yet. But the result of the election, and how the committees respond, will shape whether event-driven rentals become possible before 2028.