Philadelphia Councilman Targets Illegal Room Rentals
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The increasing popularity of the website Airbnb.com , which hooks travelers up with people who are renting out rooms, is drawing the attention of Philadelphia City Council.
Councilman Bill Green has used Airbnb.com and knows Philadelphia has many listings.
Unfortunately, all of them are illegal under the city's new zoning code.
"It's a product that I use when I travel. And its something that's clearly being used here, and we're not enforcing the law. So we might as well figure out a way to create a registration process, and tax it, [so] that [it] works with our zoning code."
Green is calling for Council hearings on airbnb.com and other sites on what's being called "the economy of sharing."
"Right now, it's underground, so we have to figure out how to make the sharing economy, whether its ride sharing, car sharing, Airbnb or other things like that that work with Philadelphia's zoning code," he says.
There is no date set yet for the hearing.