I like AirBnB a lot, but the whole marketing it as a community thing just seems... weird, and a little disingenuous.

Granted I've only stayed in entire-appt bookings, but every single one of them has been run by a real estate person(s)/ entrepreneur managing multiple properties, who does not actually live there, and all of them have some self check-in so you never meet the person. It's really nothing more than a rev stream for these "hosts." I've been doing a lot of AirBnBs in Tokyo currently, and it's especially heinous here, like trying to up sell you on other stuff, or trying to justify a crappy, cheap bed because "it's factored into the price."

I just don't know about AirBnB's whole 'community' angle.