Will New Orleans become more affordable as Airbnb’s crash?

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As the worsening coronavirus crisis puts a clamp on the region's tourism industry, owners and operators of short-term rental properties in New Orleans say they face an uncertain future.

Devrim Hayes, who owns an Airbnb rental property in Treme and manages two dozen others there and in the Marigny, Mid-City and the Warehouse District, said the rentals have been swallowed by a wave of cancellations.

"It had been rolling," Hayes said. "All my properties had been booked for weekends, even weekdays, at top prices."
But the bookings quickly evaporated as the cases of people diagnosed with COVID-19 increased. "Starting the second week in March all the way up to mid-June — the prime money-making months — all reservations that had been confirmed all are canceled," he said.

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The city saw an explosion in short-stay rentals in recent years. There were an estimated 8,500 units operating at the end of last year before Cantrell and the City Council passed restrictions. Opponents have argued that short-stay rentals, especially those owned by larger operators, disrupt traditional neighborhoods and contribute to the city's affordable housing problems. However, city officials have had to weigh those concerns against the rights of property owners, as well as the significant tax take from the sector, and have continued to allow it to expand in parts of the city.

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