California Sues Airbnb for Alleged Price Gouging and Bogus Host Identities Following Wildfires

With 8 million listings and around 5,000 hosts, verifying them has been an oft-stated Airbnb ambition, but it has fallen short on completing this ever-growing and gargantuan task.

The State of California has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb for alleged price-gouging following the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in early January, and for continuing to incorrectly label fake or nonexistent hosts and properties as "verified."

The state is seeking to stop Airbnb from price-gouging — raising rental rates by more than 10% — in future states of emergency. And it wants to prohibit Airbnb from engaging in allegedly unfair and fraudulent business practices such as claiming that hosts and properties are verified when they are not.

The lawsuit is seeking civil penalties against Airbnb of $2,500 per violation of California's Business and Professions Code on unfair competition and fraudulent practices, and $30,000 per violation of LA's anti-price-gouging provisions.

The state alleges that 2,000 to 3,000 Airbnb properties raised rental rates mor