A recent study released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association shows a rise in Airbnb activity in Chicago, a large portion of which is attributed to unlawful activity. According to the study, 96 percent of Airbnb’s revenue from Chicago originates from operators listing units more than 30 days each year, and 60 percent of revenue originates from operators listing units more than 180 days each year. Full-time operators listing Airbnb units year-round accounted for 25 percent of Airbnb’s Chicago-based revenue, and users listing more than one property in the region accounted for approximately 40 percent. According to many business owners in Chicago’s hospitality industry, these Airbnb users are essentially operating illegal hotels. As anyone familiar with Airbnb will know, the service is meant to provide stays in rooms of private homes, or stays in entire homes while the owner is away. The Chicago numbers point to a different trend. “Chicago, like many large metropolitan areas across the country, is seeing a significant growth in the number of Airbnb hosts that are renting out their units full-time, or operating multiple units, as unregulated, and often illegal and unlicensed hotel businesses,” said Marc Gordon, president and CEO, Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. “Unregulated hotels operated in residential properties are disruptive to communities and pose serious safety concerns for guests, for communities and for neighborhoods,” said Katherine Lugar, president and CEO, AH&LA. “Airbnb’s reluctance to be more forthcoming with their data should call into question their ‘honor system’ for how the short-term rental platform plans to remit taxes in the city and crack down on illegal hotels.”