Airbnb quickly realised, like the people that were buying and renting out all those apartments, that more is more. The mom and pop single-room listings are hard work and low margin, as are the people that typically stay in them. The real money is in business travellers and professionally run accommodation.
That business is usually called "hotels", and is subject to a bunch of regulations around zoning, taxes, inspections, health & safety....
If your opinion is based on this personal knowledge then it's obviously flawed. Because for sure the owners (and even renters) selling on AirBNB obviously want guests in their building. I emphasize their, because it's their building also.
There are lots of businesses that we, the masses, hate, yet continue to operate and do quite well thank you very much. AirBNB isn't a monopoly but they do have the platform network effect going for them, so anything maximizing revenue (even at the cost of public opinion) is arguably a good thing.
Do they actually live in that building? I don't live in NYC but it's the same case in Toronto. If the building has a lot of people renting units, you'll see AirBnbs and condo boards won't even try to ban them (Cityplace, entertainment district, bay street corridor et all) but the buildings that have unit owners livings in them will try to ban Airbnbs.
Consider the urban reaction if (a) buildings got to tax AirBnB stays and use the proceeds for improvements and/or reduce owner HOA costs, (b) the profile/reputation/support system were shared between AirBnB and building staff/management, so guests weren't unaccountable strangers and building staff and AirBnB could coordinate during emergencies.
As travelers, owners have also benefitted from AirBnB, which has been life-changing for providing kitchens, affordability and traveling with friends and family. AirBnB also solved the problem of large events taking away housing stock needed for everyday travel.
Investors holds up AirBnB on a pedestal, but I've always been suspicious their numbers are not nearly good enough to justify their latest valuation. Apart from their continuing damage to their brand in an increasingly crowded space, I am just amazed that they only just barely made a profit in 2017. I fully understand it takes a ton of money, time, effort, and luck to grow a company to that size - but AirBnB was already 9 years old then, had been operating in a space by illegally skirting regulations, not only did they not play by the rules but they didn't pay competitive taxes, and all the while they own no expensive infrastructure! People have been suspicious their reviews are unreliable going back years, so they had already started to erode trust in their users. They are experimenting with creating their own hotels now, which is just utterly bizarre since their entire purpose was to offer an alternative to hotels (I mean it's okay to experiment when you're that big, but this is not one I can understand).
I really, really look forward to AirBnB's IPO.
It depends on what the community is willing to accept. The richer communities probably would outright reject it. The next tier will accept something like you suggest combined with some monetary benefit. The one below that will just get bought out.
The middle happened to my neighborhood when a very exclusive school wanted to be rezoned to move in. They basically legally bribed the city with donations to the school district, voluntarily paying property taxes even though they didn’t need to as a nonprofit, and lastly limiting traffic via buses and shifting school hours. Their initial attempt was rejected and the above sugar was what got them in.