Housing Activists Decorate Airbnb HQ With Protest Signs
Photo: Coalition on Homeless #SF
Roughly 1PM today, Monday November 2nd, housing and homeless activist occupied Airbnb HQ in San Francisco. Chanting things like “No more displacement in this city”and releasing messaged signs attached to balloons into the vaulted atrium. Airbnb has been accused of worsening SF’s housing crisis and adding to it’s homeless population. Airbnb has spent over $8 million on a campaign to stop a proposition that will add regulation to their business model. San Francisco will vote on prop F in tomorrow’s election. Nov 3rd.
Representatives from the Coalition on Homelessness, CA Nurses Union, Causa Justa and of course the Brass Liberation Orchestra, were on hand to chant, protest, and occupy the 25 billion dollar corporation.
The message from Causa Jusa Instagram was:
“Short-term rental companies like you and VRBO have taken 2000+ rental units off the market in SF. We have some of the lowest vacancy rates and highest rents in the country – “Homelessness. Love, AirBnB,” Guess what? SF is a #CityNot4Sale”
Clearly a response to Airbnb’s widely criticized ad campaign extolling their tax contributions to the city and telling the municipality how it should be used. The campaign drew local and national scorn, and was taken down within days to avoid further embarrassment.
Airbnb’s October ad campaign was widely criticized for its condescending and tone def nature
Video by SFWeekly Staff writer Julia Carrie Wong
Housing and homelessness protest at Airbnb HQ continues pic.twitter.com/68cyzjxJYR
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) November 2, 2015
Representative from the CA nurses Union says:
“Airbnb is creating public health crisis through evictions and homelessness”
The protesters quite brilliantly attached their signs to balloons which suspended in air, protesters booed when Airbnb staff tried to remove them
After chanting and demonstrating at Airbnb HQ the protesters set out free food for the homeless and tenants who came to participate in the action and speak-out. Then, after 90 minutes they cleaned up after themselves and left, ‘to get back to work’.
If you’re curious about Prop F and what it actually means to SF, a housing attorney explains it here.
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