The Airbnb Inc. application is displayed in the App Store on an Apple Inc. iPhone in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Friday, March 8, 2019. Airbnb agreed to buy HotelTonight, its biggest acquisition yet, in a move to increase hotel listings on the site ahead of an eventual initial public offering for the home-sharing startup. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Airbnb Inc and Expedia Group Inc’s HomeAway failed to persuade a US court of appeals to strike down a Santa Monica law that makes the companies liable for illicit rentals in the Southern California beach city.
The ruling March 13 by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit is a setback for the home-sharing platforms in their effort to avoid regulation by cities that blame the rapid proliferation of short-term rentals for a shortage of affordable housing and a disintegration of residential communities.
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