Just over a week before a new law for minpaku (private lodging services) goes into effect, the popular rental website Airbnb has dropped nearly 80 percent of its listings for the services over the past three months.
As of March, Airbnb, Inc. had over 62,000 properties in the country available for rental. But according to Hollywis LLC, a Kanagawa-based research firm that analyzes the minpaku sector, that number has dropped to 13,800 as operators get ready for the law that will govern their services, and which will go into effect on June 15. Many properties listed on Airbnb were suspected of operating illegally or semilegally.
On its website, Airbnb informed homeowners that it would not display their listings until they showed they had official permission to operate. When owners show they are in compliance with the new law, their rooms will be posted on the website again.