Sarastro, it's confirmation that Airbnb recognizes that apartment reservations ANYWHERE can be cancelled by the owner at any time.

MmePerdu, I believe that airbnb has significantly more listings in Paris than in any other city and if an apartment is canceled by an owner, Paris is the most likely place that will occur (unless there are illegal apartment crackdowns in other cities as well).

Yes, there are more listings in Paris, the largest single market. But taken as a portion of the Airbnb listings world-wide, not a major percentage. Airbnb's policy regarding help for those whose reservation is cancelled by hosts far precedes the numbers in Paris and certainly the problem there now. It only seems to be as a result of the current situation because of all the attention.

The report on the evening news tonight (France 2) showed that Barcelona is cracking down so hard that it is now illegal to rent an apartment to someone unless the owner is staying in the apartment at the same time.

'willing to take my chances, but would like to get insurance'

Isn't this antinomic ?
If you take your chances, just do it.
If you want insurance, don't gamble and go for Citadines or hotels.

You sound like 'I want to play at the casino because I take my chances but I want to be sure not to lose money'.
Good luck

An "anti apartment agenda" comes from those of us who have a lot of experience in staying in those places.

A "pro apartment agenda" comes from those who either have never done so, or have friends in the rental industry or own rental property themselves. Of course, the latter two stand to lose revenue, so are the most vocal.

It's as clear as the nose on my face.

Caveat lector.

<<Money has a way of encouraging ignorance of the real world and the people who vacation in it, and I think twk's comment above falls into that category.>>

There's plenty of ignorance on display here--you've contributed your share now.

I like rental properties because I can get better quality at the same or lower price I'd spend for a moderate hotel. I'm not one of the folks you see on this forum asking for luxury hotel recommendations (more power to them if that's how they want to spend their money). I've rented properties in London, Paris, and the Dordogne, and will rent in Switzerland next year. In each case, renting has saved me money over what I would have spent for a hotel stay.