Airbnb Names Canadian Executive

As the popular home-sharing site Airbnb faces an increasing threat of regulation from city governments throughout North America, the hospitality company has announced that is hiring long-time labour leader Alex Dagg to lead the company's Canadian Public Policy efforts.

Dagg, who helped lead the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) through the 2012 NHL players’ lockout, will focus on strengthening Airbnb’s relationships with government officials and civic leaders.

"I have dedicated my entire career to creating and protecting opportunity for everyday people," said Dagg. "And I look forward to continuing this work at Airbnb, partnering with governments across Canada to ensure middle-class people can share their homes in order to make ends meet and pay the bills, while contributing to their communities and supporting local businesses."

Dagg has spent the majority of her career in organized labour. In addition to her role with NHLPA, she also served as the international vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and as an executive vice president at UNITE HERE. At UNITE, she was elected as executive vice president in 2004, the first woman to hold that position.

"As cities across Canada - from Vancouver to Montreal, Toronto to Halifax, and communities in between - consider the best approaches to regulating home sharing — a step we welcome — we are lucky to have Alex Dagg advocating for the right of everyday people to share their homes across Canada in order to help make some extra income to help make ends meet," said Chris Lehane, Airbnb's global head of public policy and public affairs. "From the shop floor to the ice, Alex has spent her entire career championing economic justice and will be captaining our growing Canadian policy team."

Meanwhile, in the United States—Airbnb is based in San Francisco, Calif.—the home-sharing company has hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help craft a "world-class anti-discrimination policy.”  

The company has received a growing number of complaints—particularly among African American users—alleging racial discrimination.

In Canada, Airbnb has more than 50,000 hosts located across the country.

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