What is the definition of a large hotel-like operation exactly? I have a friend who lives at his parents house, rents 2 apartments and then re-rents them out exclusively on Airbnb. He lives off the difference between the rent he pays and what he earns from re-renting on Airbnb, basically arbitraging the difference between the long-term rental and short-term rental markets in his city. His small hustle is no Hilton, but it affects the property market in a small way by taking two properties off the market.
Airbnb takes a lot of the pain out of running things like this, and enables a lot more people to do it on a small-time scale. Taken together, it will affect the market as much, or more than a few large operations.
Left unchecked, I think such practices will, in the long term, push housing (both rental and purchase) prices up while pushing traditional hotel rental prices down, so I think the interests of home renters/buyers are actually aligned with those of the lodging industry.
Increasing housing supply is one tool we can use to control housing prices. Zoning laws, when enforced properly, are another tool. This investigation seeks to address that second tool.