Airbnb’s decision to cut some big LA landlords loose (10 of its top 13, according to theLAT) was made as the company works toward launching an IPO—as one researcher notes, ‘One of the things that IPO investors hate most is legal and regulatory risk.’ Meanwhile, one of the big landlords who was shut down says that ‘The [Airbnb] rep who called us mentioned the growth plans of Airbnb conflicts with us listing on their website.’ But can Airbnb grow without the hundreds of full units listed by professional landlords? They won’t really have to find out, apparently: there ‘is no sign of similar moves in other big Airbnb markets, such as San Francisco and New York.’ So who knows how long the ban will last in LA? Read full article.