Airbnb is adding cleaning fees to a new ‘total price’ of bookings in search results after people complained listings were misleading::Airbnb’s CEO said that he’s heard guests “loud and clear” that pricing on the platform isn’t transparent and “checkout tasks are a pain.”
True, but if you wanted those things before AirBnB, they existed, they’re called aparthotels e.g.: https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/art-las-palmas.es.html?label=gen173bo-1DCAMYsQIoggJCGmxhcy1wYWxtYXMtZGUtZ3Jhbi1jYW5hcmlhSApYA2i7AYgBAZgBCrgBF8gBD9gBA-gBAfgBAogCAZgCAqgCA7gCp7PVpQbAAgHSAiRkYWQxZjI5NS1hMDBhLTQxMzYtOTI3OS1jNWM1OTczYjAxYWTYAgTgAgE
with a kitchen, washing machine, etc. Very common in touristy areas for decades.
The main difference between an AirBnB and a generalized hotel is that the former is supposed to be inhabited by the owner most of the year. The others are hotels pretending to be something else.
Here in Australia “bed and breakfast” set ups were common before AirBnB. Local councils would even put up street signage for you.
The common assertion in these threads is that “hotels are similarly priced” which is just not the case here if you’re comparing like for like.
In Australia $250 AUD (~$200 USD) in a major city will get you a proper studio apartment in privately owned short stay accommodation, or a smelly bed + toilet arrangement in a sketchy hotel with stains on the walls (literally).
I travel a lot for work and while you can find hotels which are cheaper than airBnB, there’s just no comparisson on the features provided.