[nora4]

So the question is are laws sacred things that should never be broken. I don't think so. I think there are cases that people should break the law so we progress.

In other words, our laws are not the word of God (so to say), they are the word of men (genderless ofc). Good things can happen when you break them and demonstrate how much value can be unlocked or how much a better society we can become without them. By ignoring the laws you ultimately can become a force for change of the law. Those laws usually are there for a reason, of course. But the point is that sometimes those reasons are antiqued or irrational.

I don't know about the case of AirBnB and zoning laws. Don't know enough to have an opinion there.

[ppseafield]

Well, something that happened where I live (Portland, OR) is that AirBnB became popular enough that people and businesses would buy houses to rent out. One of the consequences was that, because it was so profitable, these renters could buy more, driving up the cost of housing and contributing to an already bad housing shortage. It became very difficult to find an affordable apartment, and it's still pretty tough. I feel like that trade-off (people who own those properties make more money, visitors have a few more places to stay) is skewed pretty heavily in favor of the property owners. And the businesses making that money could easily come from out of state, draining money from the local economy.

You are supposed to have a license (Accessory Short-Term Rental permit) for AirBnB rentals, and it has to be your primary residence. But people still skirt this law.

[nora4]

To summarize your points AirBnB has these effects: 1) more supply & cheaper options for travelers/short-term renters 2) higher rent and less supply for long term renters. 3) More income for property owners (A more varied demand) 4) Less business for hotels/established incumbents.

It's a very hard tradeoff. I can't tell how to argue for one side or the other. Should we use regulation (or enforce existing ones) to help the long-term renters at the expense of travelers? Or should we let free unregulated market roll? It's not clear-cut case for me either way.