[gumby]

The market should converge, and in fact we see this (and it's well attested in this comment section).

I like airbnb for a couple of use cases:

- parts of cities without many hotels (usually means without much tourist attraction). You can stay near friends without imposing on them.

- transient events. E.g. PAX sucks up all the hotel rooms in Seattle and there are nice AirBnbs that show up along the "traditional" model (they aren't professionals but folks wanting to make a few extra bucks opportunistically). They tend to love a business booking as they know I'm not likely to smoke crack in the living room

Apart from those cases, these days a hotel is likely a better bet even if the cost is comparable.