One, hotels charge way too much money. When a hotel room costs $300 to $500 per night, then this will quickly burn your travel budget.
Two, Airbnb hosts are often, rather dishonest with their listings.
But, Airbnb is the only way to rent someone’s house in a distant location, where your family and extended family can stay together to get away. It’s impossible to do this with a hotel, and very expensive too.
Initially, some people got enterprising, and rented out their homes to help pay their mortgages. And they charged a modest fee for it. For a while, this seemed ok, as you were helping out someone to pay off their expensive mortgage. Like, Yeah! Stick it to the rich bankers, and all the jackasses that contribute to expensive housing.
But then, soon others, turned it into a hotel operation, where investors would team up to buy houses and apartments, only to rent it out on Airbnb. And when this happened, everyone else started doing it, and so the initial Airbnb business model was no longer socially or morally acceptable.
You and I, as an individual, cannot compete against a team of 5 investors that buys the property outright. Our individual goal, is to put down roots, build a family, and contribute to the community so our children can have a stable place to live.
Their goal, is to make a profit, and later flip the house for an even larger profit.
For better or worse, maybe this coronavirus will destroy the Airbnb business model. Its initial thesis, is no longer socially acceptable.