New York City (OSE) Registration and Your Booking Website Listings

This article applies to hosts with New York City listings that take direct bookings through Hostaway's Booking Website (BW) or Booking Website Pro (BWP). 

Overview

New York City requires every short-term rental listing in NYC to either hold a valid registration with the Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) or qualify for an exemption before it can accept a direct booking. Hostaway verifies each NYC listing's registration status directly with OSE and uses the result to control whether the listing can be booked through your Booking Website (BW) or Booking Website Pro (BWP).

How It Works

1. If registration is required, register with OSE directly (outside Hostaway). Submit your listing details and your Hostaway listing number to OSE.
2. OSE reviews your submission and, if approved, issues your registration number. If your building is on OSE’s Class B Multiple Dwellings List (i.e., exempt), you do not need to register or obtain an OSE registration number.
3. Enter your registration details in Hostaway — your owner/license name and, where applicable, the registration number — or check the Class B exemption box if your building is on OSE's Class B Multiple Dwellings List. See "Entering Your Registration Details" below
4. Hostaway automatically sends your listing's details — address, listing ID, registration number, and license name — to OSE for verification.
5. Based on OSE's response:
   • Verified (registered or exempt): your listing becomes bookable on your booking website.
   • Not verified: your listing stays not bookable until the information is corrected. Once you update it, Hostaway automatically re-checks it with OSE.
6. Your Booking Website or Booking Website Pro automatically reflects the result. See "What This Means for Guests" below.

How to complete your NYC OSE details in Hostaway

Depending on whether your listing is already registered or not, you should follow one of the following options:

Option 1: Your listing is already registered

• Step 1: Go to OSE’s Short-Term Rental Registration Portal and check that Hostaway and your Hostaway listing ID are associated with your existing OSE registration.
  Note: If they are not, use “Add or Correct a Listing” to add or update the listing ID.
• Step 2: Once you have confirmed this, go to Hostaway Portal >Listings > Edit > License info.
• Step 3: Enter the license holder name associated with your OSE registration and your OSE registration number.  Please repeat Steps 1–3 for every NYC listing you manage in Hostaway.
• Step 4: Hostaway will automatically send the listing details to OSE for verification, and you will be notified right away if the verification is rejected or passed in the dashboard.
  Note: If you’re having issues getting verified, please contact the OSE.

Option 2: Your listing is not yet registered

• Step 1: Register with OSE through the Short-Term Rental Registration Portal and include Hostaway and your Hostaway listing ID (which can be found on your Hostaway dashboard). 
• Step 2: Once approved, OSE will issue your registration number. 
• Step 3: Once you have your registration number, go to Hostaway Portal > Listings > Edit > License info.
• Step 4: Enter the license holder name associated with your OSE registration and your OSE registration number. Please repeat Steps 1–4 for every NYC listing you manage in Hostaway.
• Step 5: Hostaway will automatically send the listing details to OSE for verification, and you will be notified right away if the verification is rejected or passed in the dashboard.
  Note: If you’re having issues getting verified, please contact the OSE.

Option 3: Your building is on OSE’s Class B Multiple Dwellings List

• Step 1: Make sure your building appears on OSE’s current Class B Multiple Dwellings List. Please check both tabs of the list.
  Note: If you believe your building should be on the Class B list but cannot find it, building owners can ask OSE to review the building for inclusion on the Class B list using OSE’s Class B review form.
• Step 2: If your building is on the Class B list, you do not need to register the listing with OSE or obtain an OSE registration number.
• Step 3: Go to Hostaway Portal > Listings > Edit > License info, check the Class B exemption box, and (optionally) enter the license holder name. Please repeat Steps 1–3 for every NYC listing you manage in Hostaway.
• Step 4: Hostaway will use the listing details to verify the property against OSE’s Class B list. You will be notified right away if the verification is rejected or passed in the dashboard.
  Note: If you’re having issues getting verified, please contact the OSE.

Entering Your Registration Details

What This Means for Guests

This only affects your own Hostaway Booking Website and Booking Website Pro. A listing that hasn't been verified yet:

• Is no longer discoverable — it won't appear in search, city/country filters, listing collections, or the sitemap.
• Still has a page — a guest arriving via a direct link, bookmark, or cached search result won't get a 404; the property page still loads.
• Can't be booked — there's no reservation widget and no path into checkout on that page.
• Still appears on the map — map pins aren't filtered, though clicking one leads to the (non-bookable) page.

Nothing else about the listing changes, and bookable listings are entirely unaffected. Every listing defaults to bookable, so nothing changes for an existing listing until it's explicitly marked otherwise.

What's Covered and What Isn't

• Covered: your Booking Website (BW) and Booking Website Pro (BWP) only.
• Not covered: Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and the public API. A listing that isn't bookable on your Hostaway booking website can remain bookable on those other channels.

Good to Know

• On Booking Website Pro, you can change a listing page's URL from the Site Editor (see screenshot). If you change your booking website's domain or subdomain, you may also need to re-apply for OSE permissions — worth planning for if you're making that kind of change.
• OSE may require re-verification if you make significant changes to your listing after approval (for example, updating its description or photos). Keeping your registration details accurate and up to date in Hostaway helps avoid any interruption to bookings.