I am disgusted but not surprised. When I was commuting back and forth between SFO and PDX I had apartments in both cities. I was able to dramatically offset my costs by Airbnb'ing the apartment I wasn't in at any given time... this helped me launch my business and I'm so thankful for that! The first time this worked out it was an obvious win/win for me and the renter. Right after being excited my next thought was... "wow this really let's the little guy do a little better"... I'm sure this won't last...
At the risk of stating the obvious, if you're commuting back and forth between SFO and PDX to launch a business you are not the "little guy".
The "little guy" earns minimum wage and can barely afford to keep their own apartment, let alone rent out a spare one when they're travelling regularly between two cities. All AirBnB does is raise the "little guy"'s rent when the other apartments in their building become short-term hotels for tourists.
You should have seen these apts. Not fancy. You're right I'm not working at Taco Bell, but you almost certainly make more money than I do. I was able to live a multi-city life on a shoestring budget thanks to a narrow window provided by AirBnb. I'm disappointed others may not have that opportunity.
