Organized labor and elected officials on Wednesday called for a boycott of Airbnb in an effort to pressure the company to drop its $120 million lawsuit against San Francisco over business tax refunds.
Two city supervisors joined a coalition of labor unions and community groups that gathered outside Airbnb’s Brannan Street headquarters to dis the company over the lawsuit and ties to the Trump administration. Dozens of activists held signs reading “Boycott Airbnb.”
“When Airbnb does not pay their fair share, it hurts all San Franciscans, when we cut city services to clean our streets, keep our libraries open, and Muni buses running,” Supervisor Connie Chan said in a statement. “We all must boycott Airbnb until they do right by our city.”
Chan and Supervisor Matt Dorsey joined union leaders in calling for residents and visitors to use alternative accommodations, including unionized hotels and competing short-term rental platforms that comply with tax obligations.
”You didn’t just file the lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco. You filed lawsuits against all San Franciscans,” Chan said, arguing that the legal dispute diverts funds needed for transit, libraries, and programs protecting vulnerable residents from federal cuts.
Dorsey, whose District 6 includes the Airbnb headquarters, noted the company’s transformation from a decade ago, when it enthusiastically advertised its status as a taxpayer, to trying to claw back taxes it says it wrongly paid.
In 2015, San Francisco legalized short-term rentals after Airbnb operated approximately 6,000 illegal units, Dorsey said.
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“We opened the door to this business. We gave this San Francisco-based business a chance to do this the right way and legally,” Dorsey said. “This company’s thanks is to sue the city and county of San Francisco.”
Airbnb’s lawsuit seeks a refund of $120 million in business taxes. Critics claim the battle has tied up two-thirds of that amount in the city’s litigation fund, preventing it from being used for public services amid budget shortfalls from federal Medicaid cuts. Airbnb contends that the city’s gross receipts tax and Proposition C, the homelessness services tax (opens in new tab), were misapplied to the company from 2019 to 2022.
The labor coalition also criticized Airbnb board member and cofounder Joe Gebbia, a billionaire who joined the Department of Government Efficiency in February and continues to serve in the Trump administration. In a prior statement, an Airbnb spokesperson said Gebbia has not been involved in day-to-day company operations since 2022.
Anna Krasner, a member of the steering committee for Indivisible SF, had suggestions for Gebbia: “Re-examine your heart, pay your taxes, contribute to this community, and uplift our immigrants and our workers.”
Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, said educators work year-round to pay property taxes while Airbnb seeks to avoid its obligations.
“A company as large and as global and as profitable as Airbnb is trying to skirt their responsibility to pay their fair share of taxes,” Curiel said, adding that Gebbia “should do everything possible to get himself out of this equation, or become a good neighbor and make sure Airbnb does what it’s supposed to be doing in order to be a business in good standing and a neighbor that we respect.”
The groups launched a website, boycott-airbnb.org (opens in new tab), where supporters can pledge to “book elsewhere” and access information about the boycott. The coalition plans a social media campaign targeting city residents planning holiday travel.
More than 20 organizations participated in the announcement, including United Educators of San Francisco, UNITE HERE Local 2, Teamsters Local 856, SEIU Locals 1021 and 2015, IFPTE Local 21, the Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco Rising, Coalition on Homelessness SF, and the Democratic Socialists of America’s San Francisco chapter.
An Airbnb spokesperson noted the firm’s renewal of the lease on its global headquarters through 2037.
“While we can’t comment on active litigation, the fact is that Airbnb pays its taxes. In 2024, the company contributed more than $3.8 billion in total tax revenue to the state alone,” the spokesperson said Wednesday. “We will continue to work closely with local leaders to work toward the post-pandemic revitalization of the city we call home.”
Theresa Rutherford — president of SEIU 1021, which represents more than 60,000 workers, including 13,000 city employees — framed the boycott as economic accountability.
“Airbnb is a guest. They must operate accordingly,” Rutherford said. “If they are not going to pay their fair share, then, like all bad guests, you kick them out.”