It is the battle of the videos.
Airbnb and the Queenstown Lakes District Council have posted videos on social media showing their opposing views on the regulation of online visitor accommodation platforms.
The council's video, posted last month and called ``Visitor Accommodation Mythbusters'', says the ``rumour mill has gone into overdrive'' since proposed changes to visitor accommodation rules were announced in November.
The three-minute animated video says platforms such as Airbnb ``play an important role in our accommodation market'', but changes were being considered because they were making it harder for workers and families to find long-term accommodation.
Council communications and engagement manager Naell Crosby-Roe said the video was one of three the council had produced on different aspects of the second stage of its proposed district plan.
They were aimed at informing people about the issues in ``fun, more engaging ways'' than before.
The 30-second Airbnb video, released last week, shows one of its Queenstown hosts, Elizabeth, at her home.
An accompanying statement says hosting was helping Elizabeth ``fund her retirement and meet new people who come to visit Queenstown''.
It called on viewers to join her and other hosts in the resort to ``support common-sense home sharing rules''.
The video's release is part of an Airbnb campaign aimed at encouraging its hosts to speak up about the proposed changes.
It was followed by a meeting of Airbnb hosts in the resort last Friday that was attended by about 100 people.
Airbnb head of public policy for Australia and New Zealand, Brent Thomas, said its hosts were ``extremely concerned'' about the issue.
He encouraged hosts to attend meetings and make submissions on the proposals.
``Our community's message to council is simple - let's work together to keep the door open to Airbnb in Queenstown.
``Don't close the door on home sharing and the immense benefits it brings everyone in the community.''
The most significant of the proposed changes, publicly notified in November, would reduce the extent of short-term lets allowed in some neighbourhoods from 90 days to 28 days, in three separate lets.
Any changes could take up to two years to come into effect.
