This does not benefit AirBnb, though, but the people who let properties through AirBnb or any other way. Basically this is for the benefit of anyone doing furnished holiday letting.

This also does not sound like a "loophole" but a tax break specifically created for this, probably to encourage holiday lets. Now that AirBnb has made them explode the pendulum has swung back to wanting to discourage some of them and so they want to change the tax rules accordingly.