• It was, when it was just people looking to get a tiny bit of income from renting a room in their house. Then people tried to make it their sole income, and then companies got into the game. Part of it is that the service became popular, so any cheaper rooms are snatched up instantly, and the user now gets to choose between a hotel-looking hotel, or a house-looking hotel, with nasty fees to get more money from you.

    • AirBnB isn’t even remotely a “hotel”. Hotels have to obey various hospitality laws and can’t just cancel a confirmed booking 2 hours before your arrival, or kick you out because you didn’t empty the bin before 9pm.