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Comment by aba_sababa | Hacker News Reader

Was this paid for by hotel interests? I'm really trying to understand the depth of PR in the news.

I can understand your sentiment, and you might be entirely correct to presume there's an agenda being pushed.

That said, it's a legitimate story. People are breaking the law and not even aware of it. Even if it is a "hit" piece, the concern is real.

Yeah, I mean, ignorance of the law and injustice of the law is no excuse in court, but it's a perfectly good moral excuse.

The NYT does have a hate-on for AirBnB. I'm not sure if it's because it's stepping on some toes that have influence there or if they're just not glamored by the new tech aspect like everyone else.

Or maybe AirBnB is similar enough to craigslist and newspapers hate craigslist because it killed print.

What's with the need to see a conspiracy in everything? Is it so hard to see how housing laws, which NYC residents LOVE when it comes to rent control and tenant rights, inherently conflict with the freedom for a renter to rent out the apartment for a profit?

I'm all for critical thinking, but not when it flouts occam's Razor just for the hell of it.

I agree in theory, but PG posted some pretty damning stuff about the reach of PR in the news, and I want to know how far that reach goes down. In this article, the author specifically says, "yo, you shouldn't airbnb."

That's a bit more than just reporting the facts.

Hometown bias against a weird foreign service contrary to local norms is a pretty reasonable explanation. Sometimes I forget what the NY in NYT stands for :)

couldn't it simply be a genuine customer review. I honestly think there's no PR from hotel lobby here.

It may be paid for by some hotel lobby, that does not invalidate the story. (Assuming that the facts and the stories reported are true)

Given the choice, I'd imagine hotels would prefer AirBNB's name not get any mainstream press - good or bad.

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