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Airbnb’s battle for your bedroom, in one map

A new map, part of an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity, shows the state of play for legislation focused on regulating Airbnb’s expanding business:

Map of a Center for Public Integrity analysis of state lobbying records; campaign finance data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Internal Revenue Service; legislative information from LegiScan and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

CPI’s investigation indicates that Airbnb spent nearly $1 million on lobbying in 2014, a small fraction of the $11 million spent by hotel groups that are potentially threatened by competition from alternative forms of lodging.

There doesn’t appear to be a strong partisan or ideological tilt to the states that have passed or are considering anti-Airbnb legislation, though it does seem to cluster geographically on the East Coast — especially in states that have a lot of beach tourism. Airbnb’s business model touches many different kinds of regulations, everything from zoning laws to regulation on hotels.

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