Amsterdamn Airbnb ban?

hey jeffrey
yes it's true about the 4 people and strictly enforced! you pay a city tax per person upon arrival, if you don't follow their rules, your room/reservation goes bye bye. it's their laws and their city. it's for illegal rentals and nuisance of guests for the residences that live there. it's a very busy, expensive and crowded city.
you are going at a very busy time of year, so supply and demand is there.
don't know where you are flying to and from, you can look at booking.com, hostelworld.com, houseboatrental.amsterdam, houseboathotel.nl and put in your filters. what is your budget in euros?
you can look outside of amsterdam in other towns if it will accomdate your group, how much is transportation, is it worth the cost and time to travel. you could see if two hotel rooms are adequate with 3 beds one room and 2 beds other room.
sorry to be donna downer, start deciding now since lots of places have been booked. it's tulip season, spring break, travelers starting their vacations, festivals, conventions. hope you find something that works for the whole gang.
aloha

good ideas from the posts; I would suggest you consider looking at VRBO
They have a number of homes, houseboats, etc and you might likely find just the right place.
We used VRBO and rented a house in Zaandam. It was an easy ride into Amsterdam by train and was very walkable to get around. Our host met us at the house and gave us the lay of the land, including grocery, shopping, restaurants, etc from a local perspective.

Have fun!

Of course, as a last resort you could book a couple of hotel rooms.

This is a law aiming at curtailing 2 things perceived as nuisances - large group of heavy party-goers (say, stag/hen parties) using rooms and sleeping on any available surface to stay cheap while wrecking havoc in the building and making noise; and preventing residential rooms being rented by local people as de-facto event venues.

Yes, it's the law and it is enforced. If you want to stay in central Amsterdam and you want an apartment, there are a few hotels with kitchen facilities you might try. Otherwise try booking two Airbnb places that a close to each other. Of course, that's hard to do since Airbnb disguises the exact location until you book. You could try places list on Booking.com instead, or just try your luck on Airbnb. Frankly I wouldn't stay out in Zaandam; Amsterdam is such a great city and very walkable if you are staying in the city center, so it's worth the higher prices. My favorite neighborhoods are the Jordaan and near Vondel Park.

Another option might be staying in a hostel room that would be private to the five of you. I don't know if you're up for that kind of lack of amenities in the room, but if so, could be a good deal for you. For example, Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark, well rated from what I've seen, is available for those dates at a price translated to $250.48 US dollars per night for all you; that is in a room that includes an en suite bathroom.