Airbnb’s Olympic Sponsorship Deal Isn’t Playing Well in Paris

Looking back, the International Olympic Committee’s announcement Monday that Airbnb will be the chief sponsor for the Games until 2028 was probably not ideally timed. The IOC announced Airbnb’s starring sponsorship role in the five summer and winter events for the next nine years on the very same day that Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris—the host city for the 2024 Summer Games—promised a referendum on limiting the home-rental giant’s activities in the city if re-elected in March 2020. The following day, Hidalgo deputy Ian Brossat appeared at the European Court of Justice, to defend its decision to fine a Paris Airbnb host who is challenging their decision as unlawful.

This awkward convergence is perhaps not the sort of publicity either Airbnb or the IOC were seeking. And it got worse: On Wednesday, France’s hotel association announced that they will “suspend their participation” with the Olympic Games in protest at the choice of a sponsor who “does not respect the rules.” An event intended to showcase the strengths of contemporary Paris has thus already sparked a heated debate over Airbnb, tourism, and exactly who runs the city.