Airbnb spent $6M on LA races but lost mayor and city attorney contests

Airbnb invested over $6 million in Los Angeles local elections, focusing on the mayoral and city attorney races ahead of the 2028 Olympics, LAist reported. The company spent more than $4.1 million supporting Mayor Karen Bass and $2.1 million backing city attorney candidate John McKinney.

Despite the heavy spending, both candidates supported by Airbnb were defeated. Bass conceded the mayoral race to challenger Nithya Raman, who gained a decisive lead. In the city attorney contest, Marissa Roy led by nearly a two-to-one margin and was poised to defeat McKinney.

Both Raman and Roy are progressives expected to oppose Airbnb's efforts to expand short-term rentals in Los Angeles. This issue became a key point of contention during the mayoral campaign after Bass proposed temporarily loosening regulations and allowing Airbnb to prepay some taxes to address the city's budget deficit.

Former City Council member Mike Bonin noted that Airbnb's investments did not yield the desired results. Current Los Angeles law restricts homeowners to limited short-term rental use, a regulation that remains central to the debate as the city prepares for the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics.