Oh totaly agree. Thats why my third visit was like “is this just how people are now?”

I mean, it hit all the feels of a scam, but i didnt feel so much targeted as this was just how they did business. As if they were banking on us just not really having the energy to fight the BS and red tape. We even took pictures of the place at arrival and leaving. Mainly due to the first experience. But even getting someone at Airbnb to LOOK at the photos, and accept them as proof of anything was a tough haul.

The economics just don’t work for short stays. It’s expensive to clean an entire house, particularly if that involves washing multiple sets of sheets and towels.

Hotels are set up to be efficient at that with commercial laundry equipment and lots of identical rooms with no travel time between them.

Airbnb is almost always better value if you need multiple days and multiple rooms, but if you need one room for 2 nights then it can only really compete if labor costs are really low

For me, the benefit of Airbnb comes when traveling with a couple of younger kids. The added space and roominess + full kitchen is worth its weight in gold vs a hotel. And I say this coming off a recent vacation where we tried hotels again (including Embassy Suites). But if I’m solo, a hotel is often a better option.