Airbnb's new initiative will involve consultations with hosts, communities and politicians in an attempt to drive the development of a uniform system for registering short-term rentals across the UK.

Some local jurisdictions have called for a national registration policy to be run by the UK Government. For obvious reasons, Airbnb wants to be deeply involved in any national rule-making.

Airbnb has appointed Dr. Marina Novelli of the University of Brighton an "independent academic advisor" to the initiative, and has hired consultants Britain Thinks to coordinate in-city and online consultation processes and develop a white paper to be presented to the Government in June.

National and local politicians as well as Airbnb landlords around the world will be watching this situation. Stay tuned for updates.