Airbnb, Inc. v. City & County of San Francisco

ORDER RE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Plaintiffs Airbnb, Inc. (“Airbnb”) and HomeAway, Inc. (“HomeAway”) seek a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a City and County of San Francisco ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to provide booking services for unregistered rental units. The parties agreed that an evidentiary hearing was not necessary and the Court took oral argument on the motion on October 6, 2016. The injunction is denied on the primary grounds urged by plaintiffs, but further proceedings are warranted on an issue relating to fair enforcement.

BACKGROUND

This case arises out of San Francisco’s effort to regulate aspects of the “sharing economy” for accommodation rentals. Airbnb is a San Francisco-based company that operates an Internet website through which “guests” can connect with “hosts” to enter into agreements to rent accommodations on a short-or long-term basis. Dkt. No. 50 at 3; Dkt. No. 52 ¶¶ 1, 2. Airbnb does not own, manage or operate any of the host properties, and is not a party to the rental agreements. Dkt. No. 50 at 3; Dkt. No. 52 ¶ 4. It does not charge an upfront fee for hosts to post a listing on its website, and does not run banner ads or other…