After this response:

... hopefully the OP has changed her name to Takeyourcommentandshoveit.

Soooo right !
And if you are ill and can't pay for treatement, dont get a cure, just die. Staying alive is not a right.

Health care is, or should be, an important right. Suggesting that playing tourist is a right is to discredit the entire concept. Even the writers of the US Constitution talked about the right to the "pursuit" of happiness, not its achievement.

"You were born into a village and you lived there until you died. Travel is a privilege." Eheheh you wish! Being a privilegee yourself, well... "... Sorry, we , the poor people, also like to travel".

Dear OP: just use booking or expedia platform. All apartments from airbnb are also there.

I use Airbnb, and booking.com when appropriate (such as airport hotels). But saying all Airbnb apartments are listed on booking.com (assuming that’s what you meant by “booking”) is absurd.

Random thought...

does anyone know how the licensing rules for Hotels/b&bs differ America vs. UK vs France?

I don’t do Airbnb—the few times I’ve looked into it, it either hasn’t worked out or it’s not cheap. And usually I’m not looking to cook. But I was wondering if there’s something between “hotel” and “Airbnb” in Paris. The b&b I stayed at in the UK was more like someone’s guest bedroom. I mean, it was lovely, and I had my own bath, but it wasn’t like the B&bs I’ve stayed at in the states, which are more like expensive inns.

i mean, it probably doesn’t matter in terms of the debate, as I suppose most people are looking for an entire unit when it comes to Airbnb. But the implication above is that in Paris it’s either hotel OR apartment rental. So I suppose I was wondering about the in between options, which is something that doesn’t really exist in the Us—I’m assuming because of regulations that make it cost prohibitive, but maybe it’s more cultural?

Ah, the reductio ad absurdum when proper arguments don't work.

Yes, I do believe that. Travel is not a right. If you don't really have the money to travel somewhere and you need to make ends meet by displacing local residents, go somewhere you can afford. It's a matter of simple economics.

ah, using latin when you want to tell others they are stupid. before resorting to ad hominem arguments I guess ...

We have had two incredibly successful AirBnB rentals, one in the US, another in Italy. Both were better than they looked in the photos.These are dedicated second home waterfront rentals.

Just stayed at a great Air bnb in Bologna. I was wary when I booked, but the experience was great and our host gave us more info than you could get at a hotel.

((H))

I've used airbnb and vrbo with no problems in Iceland, Amsterdam, BCN, Lisbon, Rome, the UK, and across the US. I've never had a problem. My rule is they must let me pay with a credit card and they have to have reviews. Read the fine print as there may be added costs.

We have booked more than 50 Airbnbs in the last few years in Europe. 95% have been as good or better than expected. We blame ourselves for the couple of misses, for not doing sufficient homework. We added a dozen or so this fall, in addition to one HomeAway and one hotel on booking.com.

We always pay about half of the cost of a comparable hotel and get double or triple the space. And, for us, a kitchen, and dining area, in Europe, where there are so many beautiful food markets, is an absolute must. Even if we buy some prepared, or partially prepared, food. The attention given us from most owners far exceeds the interest shown by an employee from a typical hotel.

We recently were surprised to see a gorgeous trullo house we rented in Puglia in 2016 on a list as the most popular airbnb rental in the world. Popular in the sense it was saved on a dream list by something like 150,000 people. It still costs something like only $80/night. We rented a 3-bedroom apartment in Rome in 2017 for 7 people for less than one inexpensive hotel room. Last year, we rented an apartment adjacent to a family home in Campania and were allowed, at a reasonable price, to buy 10% of that Italian family’s olive oil harvest that occurred while we were there. More than half of our rentals included gifts, free wine, free water, homemade cakes, and more. We have had owners pick us up and drop us off at rail stations and other places. We have a son who has had an equal number of airbnb rentals in Europe and the US, all with great success.

We are always amused with those who have ethical concerns about airbnb. It’s okay for them to stay in hotels or B and B’s, that also could be used as apartments for locals, but not okay to stay in an apartment. All travel, with our knowledge of global warming, raises ethical considerations, and it causes us some pause. Has anyone here stopped traveling because of those concerns?

We have used Airbnb in Venice, Milan, Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Barcelona, Madrid, & Budapest, and Cuba (Havana, Vinales, & Trinidad). Also, have used a few times in the US. I love it. We are a family of 5, so in Europe hotels get costly because we need 3 room (kids are boy 16, and girls 18 & 23). I just really look at the reviews and ask questions. It is my favorite way to travel as the hosts generally give you great recommendations on where to eat and what to do.

In Belgium this month the authorities did a check of around 100 airbnb locations to see if they complied with fire safety rules.
Half of them had to close and can only reopen if they comply with the safety rules.
Does your airbnb have smoke alarms, carbon dioxide alarms, a proof of recent inspection of the boiler (must be done every 2 years)?
Do you know how to get out in case of fire? These are good questions to ask of your host before booking.

" It’s okay for them to stay in hotels or B and B’s, that also could be used as apartments for locals, "

Don't understand this. Hotels and apartments are different set ups although in case of some emergencies like fire, locals are sometimes temporarily sheltered in hotels. B and Bs are guest bedrooms in a home where some kind of breakfast is being served by, most probably, the person who occupies the home. Comparison doesn't make any sense to me.

There are plenty of old buildings in cities all over Europe that have been converted, or are being converted, to hotels or other lodging establishments to meet the increasing demand of tourism. Those same buildings could be used to meet local housing needs, should local zoning authorities decide to do so. My point is that it is easy to make a new player in the game, like airbnb, the boogieman for the negative impact of all the growing tourism that you and I are partly responsible for. Let local zoning deal with these issues, but don't paint a broad brush vs. a new concept that many of us welcome as a much improved alternative to hotels. And, I say this as a former hotel owner.

One other point, there is a popular misconception that airbnb apartments have reduced the available housing for the working class. In fact, nearly every airbnb we have stayed in, usually in popular seaside or mountain areas, probably would be some wealthy person's second home if it went out of service as an airbnb. What ethical standard does that interfere with?

This is fine except that, in Paris at least, Airbnb blatantly ignores local housing laws. The hotel industry this week has initiated a new lawsuit against Airbnb in an effort to force them to list only legally registered apartments. Booking.com has agreed to follow the law but Airbnb has not. The city also still has its case against Airbnb for noncompliance with illegal listings and renting apartments beyond the legal 120 day annual limit.

There is no restriction in France on rentals of this type as long as these areas do not have populations in excess of 200,000 inhabitants. There is plenty of evidence that in Paris, residential numbers have dropped significantly in areas such as the 4th arrondissement where a large number of available apartments have been converted into vacation rentals at monthly rental up to 400% higher than what residents were paying for these same units.

The loss of residents also affects the school system, work opportunities for the petits métiers such as florists, butchers, dry cleaners, retoucheurs, and a host of others.

There is also the undesirable affect on the quality of life of the residents who hear the noise and observe the constant coming and going of strangers in their buildings which has a detrimental affect on the overall security of their buildings.

Like it or not, France has laws restricting the use of private residents for business purposes and Paris has probably the toughest implementation of these laws. Airbnb is spending a lot of money to protect its profits but overall, I believe the city has the momentum and the will to force Airbnb into eventual compliance.

Amsterdam is going to ban airbnb in some areas of the old city.

And as I said, Airbnb's often do not comply with safety regulations. While hotels have inspections and will have to close down if they are unsafe, Airbnb doesn't cooperate with authorities.