Airbnb says it's down to play by the rules in Australia, as regulation looms

Off the back of some regulatory losses in the U.S. and Europe, Airbnb wants to play nice Down Under.

The company's head of global policy indicated it would be open to working closely with Australian lawmakers at a lunch with journalists Tuesday.

"Our perspective here is that we want to partner, and as they go through this, to be a resource," Chris Lehane said.

Concerns have been raised, in Sydney especially, about the affect Airbnb is having on housing affordability. Sydney is now in the top five cities for Airbnb users globally.

The company has alway maintained that its business model makes use of spare rooms or people's own homes while they're on vacation, while its critics have accused it of obscuring the number of purely commercial listings.

In Australia, Airbnb claims that of 87,000 listing more than 80 percent are primary residences.

"There may be communities here, like Bondi Beach, with a history of commercial vacation rentals I'm guessing. But writ large, people are clearly doing it here on an amateur basis consistent with how [Airbnb] was founded," Lehane said.

Residents have also complained about noise and strangers in buildings and suburbs not typically deemed tourist sites, but Lehane said the company had introduced more tools for hosts and neighbours to share concerns.

In Australia so far, state governments have mostly welcomed the company with open arms.

The results of a short term stays inquiry in New South Wales this October recommended the sharing economy accommodation model be regulated with only a light touch.

Lehane said the company was waiting to see what rules, if any, NSW would impose. The government is expected to respond to the inquiry in early 2017.

Having been caught on the back foot by fights in New York City, among other places, Airbnb appears to be trying to act proactively. Lehane mentioned host registration systems and caps on the amount of days non-primary properties can be rented out as possible regulatory solutions for different cities.

"You can create a regulatory approach that really encourages, and has a light touch, for those that are doing this out of the homes that they are living in, so they are not necessarily impacting the long term housing market," he said.

Pushing the message that Airbnb is a boon for the middle class, Lehane shared that the average host locally makes A$4,700 via Airbnb per year, renting out their listing for 28 days.

According to the company, about 3.5 million Australians or 18.4 percent of all adults have an Airbnb account.

Lehane said the majority of cities are open to the idea of Airbnb and willing to partner. "In most of these places, it really ends up being a pretty constructive, positive conversation similar to what you're seeing here in Australia," he explained.

"They'll pass laws, and there may be pieces of it we don't like and pieces that we love, but generally it ends up being a pretty productive, constructive process."