[varunjuice]

re: So... why don't those spaces "belong" in the rental market too?

That's a good discussion to have I think. But we are talking about Airbnb here.

re: Ultimately, if market forces make it more profitable for rooms to be used for short-term stays than as homes, it will be very hard to stop that from happening and not at all clear that we should stop it from happening.

Yeah, you might be right. The cost of this is lack of affordable rent in cities like NYC. Some of us believe that we have a responsibility to ensure this. Now, the debate is about how big of a role Airbnb is playing in this.