Izinto onokuzonwabela ezinento yokwenza nokutya kwiSixeko sase-New York
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These information pages can help you get started in learning about some of the laws and registration requirements that may apply to your experiences on Airbnb. These pages include summaries of some of the rules that may apply to different sorts of activities, and contain links to government resources that you may find helpful.
Please understand that these information pages are not comprehensive, and are not legal advice. If you are unsure about how local laws or this information may apply to you or your Experience, we encourage you to check with official sources or seek legal advice.
Please note that we don’t update this information in real time, so you should confirm that the laws or procedures have not changed recently.*
I plan to include food during my experience, is there anything I should be thinking about?
Yes. If you plan to include food during your Experience, we encourage you to please keep your health and safety, and that of your guests, at the top of your mind. For example:
- Make sure you take your guests to (or otherwise serve them food from) reputable restaurants, food trucks, or professional caterers who keep clean facilities, use fresh ingredients, and have a good food safety track record.
- If your Experience involves you cooking or handling food (including storing or serving food prepared by others), be sure you handle, prepare and serve food safely and with good hygiene. We encourage you to review the USDA’s tips for handling food safely.
- Also ask your guests in advance about any food allergies they may have, or religious or philosophical codes that may impact what kind of food they eat.
I’m a foodie. What kind of food experiences can I provide in New York City?
The following food experiences are unlikely to run afoul of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:
- Taking your guests to your favorite local restaurants or food trucks;
- Inviting your guests to your home or a picnic where you serve food that is cooked in a licensed facility (for example, take-out from your favorite local restaurants, food catered by a professional licensed caterer, prepared or prepackaged food from your favorite market).
If you are thinking of serving home-cooked food, please carefully read our home-cooked food guidance and check with an attorney to make sure you are following your local laws.
I want to serve home-cooked food to guests. Are there any specific rules I need to follow?
The key question is whether serving home-cooked food in your private home to occasional guests qualifies as a regulated activity under the New York Sanitary Code. The Sanitary Code applies to “food service establishments” and “temporary food service establishments.”
According to the Sanitary Code, a “food service establishment” is, with some exceptions, “a place where food is prepared and intended for individual portion service and includes the site at which the individual portions are provided, whether consumption occurs on or off the premises.”. Unless an exemption applies, all food service establishments in New York City must be permitted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Note that, for a variety of reasons, residential kitchens generally cannot be permitted as “food service establishments.” In addition to the strict requirements a “food service establishment” kitchen (referred to as a “commercial kitchen”) must meet, a commercial kitchen must be totally separate from the kitchen used by the people who live at that home. In other words, in order to run a food service establishment from your home, you would need two separate kitchens.
This is a tricky area and we encourage you to call the Department of Health directly or speak to a lawyer to describe your Experience and make sure you are correctly interpreting this guidance and are following your local laws.
I’m a great cook. Can I give cooking lessons for a fee to my guests?
If you want to teach a cooking lesson in a private home, please carefully read the section above on home-cooked foods and speak to an attorney to make sure you are following your local laws. If you simply demonstrate cooking without serving the food, that should be okay to do without a permit.
From time to time, Airbnb may also partner with select non-profits who may either provide licensed food facilities for Hosts or may otherwise sponsor a food related event.
*Airbnb is not responsible for the reliability or correctness of the information contained in any links to third party sites (including any links to legislation and regulations).