That's the PR response. While there is truth to it, surely there is an element of entrenched industries using their money and power to protect themselves.
Why do hotels have different building codes? If the room I'm sleeping in catches fire and collapses, no legal arrangement with the landlord is going to save me.
All types of buildings have different building codes.
Apartment buildings may have different codes depending on their height (you can't build a 10 story wooden building for instance), there's codes which regulate exits, access, max occupancy, etc... Single family homes have different code to follow because the expectation is that only 1 family will be living in it, versus an office tower or hotel with thousands...
A relevant example - not every basement is suitable as a living suite, but many are rented out anyway, which is against the law (there are certain codes which much be followed to ensure a rental suite is legal). This would apply to AirBnB as well. Traditional bed and breakfast places have rules to follow as well, business regulations, building code, etc...
Because the occupants of a hotel are temporary and not familiar with the building, the building operator takes on more responsibility for their well-being. Partly this is in better fire protection, partly this in things like having those exit plans on the door and having a designated fire safety director.
If the room I'm sleeping in catches fire and collapses, no legal arrangement with the landlord is going to save me.
Since you mention it, I suspect that an "official" hotel room has to be built and maintained to a much higher standard than someone's house or apartment. Width of exits, sprinkler systems, etc.
Sure, but having lived in two buildings (Brooklyn) in which neighbors have made AirBNB hotels out of their apartments, I seriously hope AirBNB gets gutted on this. Why should other tenants who don't AirBNB share the risk of the spread of bedbugs, increased chance of crime, and potentially dangerous or annoying strangers in shared spaces (hallways, common areas)?
Is there any evidence that AirBNB rented rooms increase the spread of bed bugs, crime, and dangerous people?
As an interesting counterpoint here, it's legal to let someone crash on your couch, but the second you ask a dollar from them for the space, everything changes. That doesn't necessarily make sense to me.
It's strangers over the internet - the same that report bedbug issues if you google for those terms. Bedbugs are spread by travelers, sometimes NYC hotels are to even blame.
People that do AirBNB in NYC aren't doing it at the same recurrence rate as 'having someone crash on the couch.' Either AirBNB hosts are trying to control the tone on hackernews or people are seriously oblivious to reality.
The person you let crash on your couch for free is likely someone you know, who is at least somewhat socially beholden to you.
The person who paid you to sleep on your couch is just some person with cash. Especially if you are not around, they're much less likely to feel socially obligated to treat the place like their own.
To put this in perspective, one of the most prominent illegal residental-building-to-hotel conversions that was originally causing problems for residents was called the Marriott ExecuStay[1] and was owned by a small-time hotel chain called Marriott International. The entrenched industries were already taking advantage of the lax regulations and enforcement.
