Protesters occupy Airbnb apartment in Prague

Organizers of a group protesting the activities of the online residential platform Airbnb rented an apartment in the middle of Prague in order to bring attention to their complaints. The daily MfD reports that the group, called Stop Airbnb may have chosen the flat on Jindřišska because its Israeli owner lives abroad and would be unable to end the protest. They kept their plans secret until the last moment before moving into the 2-bedroom unit bringing with them signs that showed which companies leased the most flats through Airbnb. Lending strength to their message was the fact that many of them live in buildings in Prague where some of the apartments are leased out to Airbnb customers. Some claimed to have been physically abused by short-term visitors while others complained that shared scooters often littered the common areas. Journalists were invited to attend the event to ensure exposure. A spokesperson for Airbnb said they would not be taking action against the group and were willing to work with the city to work out a way to continue offering its services.