Key Takeaways

  • Airbnb sent Salt Lake City a cease-and-desist letter over the city’s use of alleged fake guest accounts during enforcement
  • The city says about 400 short-term rentals may be operating illegally in residential areas where they are not allowed
  • Hosts are also pushing back on a 200-night annual cap and two-night minimum stay requirement

Airbnb is accusing Salt Lake City of using fake guest accounts to catch short-term rental hosts breaking the rules.

In a cease-and-desist letter dated Aug. 6, the company alleges city staff or contractors posed as travelers, contacted hosts about booking their properties and then used those conversations as evidence in enforcement cases.

Airbnb now wants the practice stopped.

The dispute comes just weeks after Salt Lake City’s new short-term rental rules took effect July 1, putting roughly 1,800 Airbnb listings across Utah’s capital under a tighter licensing system.

Airbnb’s letter, obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, argues that creating fake accounts violates the company’s terms of service, which prohibit users from misrepresenting their identities. The company also raised concerns about whether the tactic runs afoul of a 2025 Utah law limiting how cities can use online rental listings as evidence against hosts.

Salt Lake City spokesperson Sofia Jeremias said the city’s civil enforcement team uses several methods to investigate possible violations, including contacting people who advertise rental properties to determine whether they are following the rules.

She said the city is reviewing whether those enforcement methods comply with legal requirements.

The city estimates about 400 properties may be operating illegally in residential neighborhoods where short-term rentals are prohibited.

Hosts are pushing back on the rules too

Airbnb is not the only one unhappy with Salt Lake City’s new system.

Some property owners say the biggest problem is the ordinance’s 200-night annual rental cap and two-night minimum stay requirement.

Aaron Kirkham, who manages about 100 rental properties through his company Conmigo, said some investors he knows are considering whether to sell their properties rather than continue operating under the new limits.

“Now,” Kirkham said, “they’re considering divesting because this literally cuts what their earning potential is by 45%.”

Related: Airbnb loses appeal over New Orleans’ one-per-block short-term rental cap

Condo owner Brent Stevenson has also criticized the process, saying he bought his unit specifically because it was located in an area where short-term rentals were allowed and that residents did not get enough opportunity to weigh in before the new rules took effect.

“I don’t understand the play here,” said Stevenson, who owns a condominium downtown he bought as a short-term rental investment. “This feels like no input from the community as a whole to shut down [short-term rentals].”

The city council held a straw poll July 14 and decided to leave the ordinance unchanged for now, although council members discussed whether to remove or change the minimum-stay requirement.

So far, Salt Lake City has issued seven licenses out of 26 applications, and council members have said they plan to revisit the ordinance.

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