Prague is the latest city to begin looking at the online accommodations application Airbnb as a threat that needs to be dealt with seriously. The mayor of the city’s first district Oldřich Lomecký says the center of Prague could turn into a zone where no one actually lives and is calling for new rules to govern short-term accommodations. “Berlin, New York, San Francisco, London, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam Barcelona – all of these cities regulate Airbnb or have reached an agreement with them,” he said, according to the daily Mlada fronta Dnes. “It’s a phenomenon that if left unregulated, without rules, could be very dangerous for any city.” MfD reports that of the 15,000 flats in Prague 1, 3,500 are now being offered on Airbnb, but the city is collecting tourist taxes from just just 427.
