City of Chicago Registration

[Leah61]

I am really disappointed with the registration process and the way the city of Chicago and Airbnb work together. I’ve been a superhost for 4 years and have worked really hard to provide a welcoming and comfortable place for our guests. I just got a letter from Chicago’s BACP saying that after several attempts to contact me and renew my license, my registration has expired and my listing must be removed immediately. Not once was I contacted and told to renew my license. I contacted the city and was told Airbnb should have notified me and it was their responsibility to communicate info to me about my registration number. This did not happen. After contacting Airbnb they suggested I simply apply for a registration renewal, but the city of Chicago will not accept this because my registration number has already expired and cannot be processed through their computer system. The only solution is to delete my listing with over 250+ positive reviews that I worked REALLY hard for and start over. The city of Chicago’s rules are too vague and difficult to navigate and rely on Airbnb to communicate their policies to their hosts- which in this case Airbnb did not. I would have happily taken the initiative to renew my registration number myself had I known this was a thing. Anyone else feeling let down by the registration process? Tips?

[Helen427]

Hello @Leah61  

Sorry to read about your unfortunate situation.

There will be a Legal Technicality somewhere in Laws that is out there as there's always 'grey areas' in Law ripe for the picking, it's just a matter of finding them.

See if you can find the word 'may' in any documentation as it usually is there rather than the word "will" or similar.

There must be a Review or an appeal process you can use to contest any decisions as it is generally a requirement under Law.

Meanwhile use the searchbox here in CC with related words to source related information that may help.

There's also a Msg system so use that to reach out to others to network offline.

Look online under 'news'  for ABB related stories to see what others who may have spoken to the media have said and reach out and network.

All the best

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