I live in Barcelona where there is a big issue due to Airbnb. I moved here from the UK and I work in Data Science so I'm not like a janitor or something.

The problem is that Airbnb will charge maybe 80-120 euros a night for an apartment depending on size, location etc. And I am paying 750 euros a month.

So a landlord can make more money from a week of Airbnb than a month of normal rental.

In the three years I have been here the rents have risen probably 15% or so - it means even with promotions and pay rises you just keep up.

Ironically London also has an insane rental market so moving back wouldn't help much...

> In the three years I have been here the rents have risen probably 15% or so - it means even with promotions and pay rises you just keep up.

Well, except you also have 15% more money after paying rent as well. If you save the same percentage of your overall income then your absolute savings went up 15%. And if you assume that all your other costs are not rising as quickly (maybe fair, maybe not) then you could save a higher percentage of your income because your salary grew faster than your costs as a whole.

It's the same argument why living in SF or NYC is worth it even with the high cost of housing.

No, I mean my salary went up at most 15-20% in that time.

So it means even with promotions etc. you just break even - it feels like you are just working for your landlord.

That said, it is still better than London where the situation is just untenable and I prefer the quality of life here as well. (sadly so do all the tourists!)

I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but nobody is going to be able to afford to pay hotel rates for their permanent residence.

Airbnbs are not passive income.

You need to take down sheets, wash them, remake the bed, clean the bathroom, buy fruit/food every ~3 days, vacuum, be available for your guests.

When you have tenets, its passive income. You clean up every 6 months to 3+ years.

Airbnb pays better, but its labor. The ~300$/mo difference can easily be accounted for with that. Not to mention the cost of food(always HQ), electricity, water, heat/AC.

The items I listed are not optional, people can give you a bad review regardless what expectations you set with prices + description.

Depends on the kind of hotel. And after the market settles, hotel rates may not be as high.

A key aspect of hotel rates is that they fluctuate with demand. When you come into town for the big event, the rates may be 4 times higher than staying on a cold, boring night. A long-term stay will be much cheaper per-night than a nightly rate.

In my part of midwest USA, multiple giant hotels seem to be nearing completion: EIFS is nearly complete, windows have been in a couple of months, concrete parking lot is poured, etc. Apparently investors are expecting a lot more travelers to this thoroughly ordinary area.

Blame the poor for existing and inconveniencing the tourists, not the new economic factors introduced by AirBnB.