[OstiaAntica]

This practice is part of the problem. It is bidding up the cost of apartments for locals who need a place to live.

[cube13]

In general, the people who have 2nd vacation homes buy single family houses or condominium apartments. They don't rent, because that doesn't get them ownership of anything. The 2nd home is generally a more speculative investment than anything else.

So no, they're not really pushing up the costs of rental apartments, because they're not in that market segment at all.

[fennecfoxen]

Meh. It's the software engineers making $150,000 each bidding up the cost of apartments more than it is J Random Tourist-Supplemented Income dude.

[Mz]

I have no idea if AirBnB does that to apartment rents but I do know that some formerly sleepy coastal towns became too expensive (in recent decades) for locals to buy a house due to second homes being bought there by wealthy non-residents. I have no idea how to fix such a problem but I know it is real.