I think I get all points of the debate but the key question for me is...why are there so many airbnb rentals. Clearly there's some sort of demand, clearly the hotel econsystem doesn't handle it well enough. That's the root issue that needs investigation. Tighter regulations of airbnb are more of a hotfix than a long term solution imo
My uninformed gut instinct without doing any research is that the hotel market is probably over regulated and the prices are artificially high or there are simply not enough available rooms (lobby mini-monopolies or whatever you want to call it) and that's the reason why people flock to lower priced/other available options.
I guess a study on residential to short term rent demand would be helpful.
Yes: this is precisely the issue that most people seem to be ignoring.
I traveled in Europe a bit last year and was amazed at the affordable options for travelers. Between nicer hostels and hotels that offered small single rooms with a communal bathroom, I was able to get a clean place to sleep for $25-70/night. I haven't seen that in the US outside of AirBnB.
Most US hotels give you a huge room with a huge bed for a high price, and they're either located right in the middle of downtown or all the way on the edge of the city so you'd need to rent a car.
When I'm traveling, I much prefer to ditch the bullshit standard amenities like room service, a pool, continental breakfast, etc. and get a simple room in a part of town where people actually live. Even more so if I'm visiting friends.
Not sure what in our regulations makes this unpopular, but it's the real problem.
There isn't any mystery. Property owners in residential neighborhoods absolutely do not want a stream of transients passing through the hood. This is not new. Airbnb just flew under the radar long enough to avoid the hammer of long standing inn-keeping/boarding-house regulations.
My uninformed gut instinct without doing any research is that the hotel market is probably over regulated and the prices are artificially high or there are simply not enough available rooms (lobby mini-monopolies or whatever you want to call it) and that's the reason why people flock to lower priced/other available options.
I guess a study on residential to short term rent demand would be helpful.