Personally now if I have to choose between Airbnb or a hotel, I’m going hotel every time. The fees are ridiculous with Airbnb’s, a lot of times doubling the cost for no amenities, beds that are not nearly as comfortable, and checkout instructions like “take out the trash, strip bed linens, but dirty towels in the washing machine, run the dish washer, etc.”. Where’s the value? The only time we’ll book an Airbnb is if we have to bring our dogs, then we’ll pay the extra $100 in pet fees…

That’s an interesting point. Low interest rates probably made any kind of investment property well within reach for anybody looking to capitalize. It wouldn’t bother me if a few people overestimated the paycheck they imagined.

I think the difference is short term rentals are typically places that would otherwise be lived in by full time residents as opposed to investment properties or vacation homes for the owners to maybe spend a few weeks a year in, if they ever visit them at all. I moved to park city where 40% of the housing stock are short term rentals. These short term rentals put an even bigger squeeze on the housing market for both renters and buyers.