Keep in mind that even though you may not like AirBNB, you're still benefiting from their service. AirBNB has greatly increased the supply of housing in each city, thus causing price drops and forcing hotels to drop their prices in order to remain competitive.
If AirBNB really is overpriced for the hassles involved, then no one would use it, and AirBNB hosts would be forced to lower their prices until they find someone. If you're seeing that AirBNB is just as expensive as hotels, that's because some other tourists had decided that an AirBNB accommodation fits their needs just as well as the hotels they looked at.
> AirBNB has greatly increased the supply of housing in each city
Technically, it's increased the supply of short term lodging. Housing supply would have to be increased by construction or subdivision of units.
> If you're seeing that AirBNB is just as expensive as hotels
It's not an entirely fluid market, and some AirBnb hosts have wildly inflated ideas of what their unit is worth. A lot of AirBnbs (in my searches) sit mostly empty except for during events, during which they overcharge greatly. The vacancy rate acceptable for an AirBnb is much higher than the acceptable vacancy rate for a hotel.
Many AirBnB hosts rent out their primary residence. We rented one for our wedding where the family that lived there just decided to go camping that weekend; if you're income-poor but house-rich, getting paid a couple grand for a camping trip ain't a bad deal. Similarly, we stayed at an AirBnB for our honeymoon in Sarajevo; the place was our host's actual apartment, hand-decorated by her. She stayed with her parents for the weekend; we were paying her about 2 weeks salary in Bosnia for 2 nights there, so it was well worth her time.
Yes, I was referring to the supply of housing for tourists and visitors, since that's the context the previous poster was referring to.
Regarding total supply of housing for residents + tourists, AirBNB does help here as well. There are a number of people who have extra space in their apartments that they would like to rent out temporarily, without any long term commitments or friction. If AirBNB didn't exist, these people would simply not rent their apartments at all, and that extra space would sit there unused. Thanks for AirBNB and similar services, this extra space is now better utilized to grow the overall supply.
Obviously I don't have any aggregate data on how many people use AirBNB as a substitute for renting, vs letting it sit empty. But anecdotally, I personally know multiple people who use AirBNB but would never take on a sublet/long-term tenant.
>AirBNB has greatly increased the supply of housing in each city
They've created some supply by opening up some empty rooms and temporarily unused housing to short term renters. But a significant proportion of AirBnB's listings aren't new supply, they're just reallocated from long term rental properties. This will likely have caused hotel prices to drop, but it also causes long term rental prices to rise.
> AirBNB has greatly increased the supply of housing in each city, thus causing price drops and forcing hotels to drop their prices in order to remain competitive.
That's 2-3 major claims that I just can't believe at face value. I'd like to, but you'll have to convince me.
People are converting rental properties to AirBnBs, which actually could mean less supply of rental properties and the same amount of people looking for them.
Is AirBnB leading to development of new housing to offset this? Maybe. idk
If AirBNB really is overpriced for the hassles involved, then no one would use it, and AirBNB hosts would be forced to lower their prices until they find someone. If you're seeing that AirBNB is just as expensive as hotels, that's because some other tourists had decided that an AirBNB accommodation fits their needs just as well as the hotels they looked at.