[Karunamon]

Because AirBnB hosts, in general, are not running a hotel.

The distinction is purely legal - in this case, the semantics matter quite a bit.

[enraged_camel]

I don't know if they do. If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

At the end of they day they are directly competing with hotels. In order to ensure the competition is fair, they should be subject to the same regulations.

[Karunamon]

And what if the competition isn't fair already?

What if I just want to rent out one room in my home on the side, not as a business? Why, then, should I be subject to the same requirements as a huge corporation with dedicated multistory buildings, many more customers, staff, and so forth?

To me, it sounds like the taxi industry pre-Uber. Lots of questionable-value regulation created by incumbents that doesn't really hurt anyone in the real world when it's mostly ignored.

[dragonwriter]

> Because AirBnB hosts, in general, are not running a hotel.

I don't know whether it's the majority, but quite a lot of them are running hotels, though often illegal hotels under local law.

[lightbyte]

>Because AirBnB hosts, in general, are not running a hotel.

Of course they are. Are you paying the host to stay in a room they own? Hotel.

[Karunamon]

Which isn't what most people think of when they hear "hotel".

[enraged_camel]

Really? What do "most people" think when they hear "hotel"?

edit: for all you down voters, he is the dictionary definition of the word "hotel":

"an establishment providing accommodations, meals, and other services for travelers and tourists."

Which means every "Airbed and Breakfast" is a hotel.

[DINKDINK]

Most Airbnbs I've stayed at do not offer meals. In my local jurisdiction, all hotels must provide meals like your definition lays out. By that fact an Airbnb would /not/ qualify as a hotel legally

[dragonwriter]

If providing a meal is part of the definition that makes something a hotel, that's true; the way you state it is a requirement that hotels must comply with, though, which would mean AirBnB might qualify as a hotel, but also be in violation of the requirement.

Theres lots of places where AirBnB (or hosts on the platform) meets the definition of a hotel and simultaneously often fail to meet the legal obligations of a hotel.