Yeah I barely use airbnb - its almost always more expensive than alternatives. I do use it for discovery then go off platform for better spots. It is a premium service provider with a mixed quality outcomes and airbnb rakes in a lot of fees.
That said, the defense of this thread is entertaining. I don't know how anyone can honestly say that airbnb doesn't impact housing supply. Its the equivalent to saying that the earth is flat.
Now, FWIW, I prefer the adapt-or-die mentality, so I'm not anti-tourism, but if a majority of people in a certain place decide "no tourism", then hey more power to the people, they should decide whether they will accept tourism or not, not the tax-dollar-receivers...
Tourism jobs are generally low-wage menial work, and tourists also have the effect of driving local prices up. Particularly the kind of tourism that would benefit from high AirBnB availability.
Last I checked, locals have the right to vote, and tourists do not.
Sad thing (for the people against tourism, which might be the majority in certain places...)is that those don't vote... (1 person 1 vote) but they do lobby/bribes...
Again, I'm just saying listen to what the majority want... you know... good old school democracy...
Do landlords vote? Are they residents? Many normal people are landlords. You will never be a billionaire. Some people will never be guilded professionals or make it to the Ivy League. Many of the normal people who "make it" in life will be landlords.
Everyone's income is someone else's expense.
In San Francisco, where I live, the idea to drive out the "techies" couldn't be more boneheaded. Where are those agitators now? Careful what you wish for.
I don't know how to convince people to lean less into the aesthetics of a political position. If you feel like you are saying something that boils down to, "the right people get all the things, and the wrong people got nothing," it's an easy position to take when charts are going up, when interest rates are low, and when you happen to be part of the group of "right people."
While a lot of people are landlords, most properties on free AirBnB markets are hosted by professional, multi-property landlords, and I don’t personally think that creating a new class of feudal landlords is a great idea.
My local area simply put in the restriction that only one property can be listed on AirBnB by one person, and that the property must be the person’s primary tax residence, and so now the local market has nearly entirely dried up even though that was allegedly the original purpose of AirBnB.