The world’s biggest vacation rental company is helping the GOP frontrunner in Florida’s gubernatorial race.
By Christian Casale/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: July 3, 2026
Host: Local governments and residents continue to grapple with the effect of short-term vacation rentals. Meanwhile, the industry’s most dominant player has staked a major claim in Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial election. Christian Casale reports for Suncoast Searchlight.
Christian Casale: Airbnb, the online marketplace at the center of local fights over neighborhood rentals, has contributed $1 million to the political committee supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, who previously backed legislation to curb local regulation of the industry.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican front-runner for Florida governor, received $1 million from Airbnb through an affiliated political committee as local governments continue debating regulation of short-term vacation rentals. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons by way of Suncoast Searchlight
With an enormous fundraising advantage and an endorsement from President Donald Trump, Donalds is the clear frontrunner to become the Republican nominee for Florida’s next governor.
Airbnb funneled $1 million through its political committee called “The People Versus The Powerful” to the Friends of Byron Donalds political committee. Airbnb’s major donation could signal the company sees Donalds as friendly to its business.
As a state representative in 2020, Donalds called the vacation rental industry “a boon to Southwest Florida.” At the time, he advocated for a bill in the Florida House that would have blocked local regulations on vacation rentals.
The donation comes as municipalities across the Suncoast have fought to crack down on short-term rentals over the past several years, citing concerns that they exacerbate the affordable housing crisis and degrade the character of neighborhoods.
A short-term vacation rental listed on Airbnb in south Manatee County near Sarasota Bay. Sarasota and Manatee officials have spent years weighing regulations on vacation rentals amid concerns about housing and neighborhood impacts. | Photo: C. Todd Sherman for Suncoast Searchlight
Sarasota first regulated such rentals on the barrier islands in 2020, which later expanded citywide. Manatee County is also considering an ordinance on short-term rentals that could include a licensing process and occupancy limits.
The debate has intensified nationwide as studies have shown that concentrations of short-term rentals can modestly increase rents and home prices by reducing the supply of housing available to long-term tenants.
The Friends of Byron Donalds PAC has collected more than $74 million to support the congressman’s gubernatorial ambitions, largely from billionaires and corporate interests.
With the Suncoast Searchlight, this is Christian Casale.
To read the full report, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/airbnb-byron-donalds-donation-sarasota-manatee.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.