AirBnB is another great candidate to add to your list of tech companies doing objectively illegal things but making enough money for enough people that everyone just says “fuck the externalities.” I shed no tears if that market collapses.
It's always been shit. I hate AirBnB. I have never once stayed at one that wasn't extremely fucking weird in one way or another, didn't have something wrong with it (the last AirBnB we stayed at had no water two days in) and didn't have some extremely diffident host who answered any query by deflecting blame. My wife is a big fan of actual bed and breakfasts. That whole "you're staying at some rando's house" aspect is super different when the rando answers the door, lets you know what breakfast is, and fills you in on what's going on the next day in case you haven't quite firmed up plans yet. B&Bs are run by retirees who want to supplement their income to live in a cool place. AirBnBs are side-hustles of circumstance and, like all regulatory arbitrages, the arbitrage goes away as soon as regulatory catches up. And, of course, AirBnB has decimated the B&B industry. Old folx who wanted to bake muffins and stock take-out menus have been blown out by money launderers. I prefer a decent hotel with a decent concierge when they're available but in a town of 5000 people that ain't gonna happen. Now? Now you're stuck dealing with an ecosystem that can't function without a call center to intercede between you and the absentee landlord who's too greedy to write a lease.