Hotel developers targeting Berlin will be dismayed to find that as of May 1, tourists who prefer to rent out apartments using the Airbnb app will again be allowed to do so. A ban on the practice had been in place for two years, with visitors limited to renting out private rooms, but not entire homes. Those flat owners who took the risk of defying the regulation faced a fine of up to €100,000. Conde Nest Traveler reports that Berlin’s city council reversed the ruling, which had been put in place on fears that Airbnb’s spread in the city was driving up rents. “We welcome that Berlin embraces home sharing in creating new rules that benefit regular people who want to share their homes with travelers,” said Alexander Schwarz, general manager for Airbnb in Germany. “We want to continue our good dialogue with the city of Berlin and promote a permit procedure that is unbureaucratic and citizen-friendly.”
