According to France 24 News, French hoteliers have complained against the country’s state railway SNCF for their commercial partnership with Airbnb.
These complaints have forced SNCF to cancel it’s agreement with immediate effect.
France 24 News reported Didier Le Calvez, chief executive at the Bristol Hotel in Paris saying:
“How can the SNCF, which relies on government subsidies, defend and promote a company that is damaging an important sector of the French economy?”
The Bristol lost almost €500,000 within three days of the terrorist attacks. Revenue at hotels in Paris had been falling even before the attack compared with last year. At the same time, the city has become the world’s top destination for Airbnb users, with 50,000 properties to let versus about 80,000 hotel rooms, France 24 said.
Airbnb, for its part, offered the following statement to technology news website Re/code:
“It’s sad to see the big hotel lobbyists and their allies oppose a partnership which benefits hard-working families who want to make a little extra money to help pay their bills and save money when they travel by train.”