Airbnb, Like Uber, Needs to Grow Up

With Uber's problems grabbing all the headlines, it's easy to overlook the fact that the other great "sharing economy" company, Airbnb, is also having issues caused by an overaggressive expansion and a tendency to ignore rules, even if they're reasonable. Because of these issues, usage of the service may be nearing its peak.

Paris, Airbnb's second biggest city worldwide after London, is threatening to sue the U.S. company unless it removes all the listings for rentals not registered with the city authorities. That would be about 80 percent of all the listed properties. Instead of making sure hosts comply with the law, Airbnb has offered to enforce the city's rule limiting short-stay rentals to 120 days a year -- but only in four arrondissements (boroughs), out of Paris's 20, leaving out some neighborhoods that are especially attractive to tourists, such as Montmartre.