It's cheaper. Until something horrible happens or goes wrong. It's exactly the same as airBnB. There's a reason these things are properly regulated.
This said, good on the German government for forcing the company to actually respect their laws. Being a trendy net-based startup is not a license to flaunt all rules, especially consistent rules that exist for very good reason.
Government regulates private companies running the service. And those private companies are standing up to a shitty company that openly says that they won't comply with laws or verdicts, because they are the future. Or something like that.