I've first hand experienced bait and switch scams, thieving cleaning staff, and made up fees in cheap hotels from around the world. NYC hotels are particularly bad offenders even though they are thoroughly regulated.
If anything an AirBnB host infinitely more trackable and accountable than a hotel you book directly or through an oblivious intermediary (travel agent). Not to mention the countless minimum wage staff working for these hotels that are also much harder to thoroughly vet and trust individually than a single host.
Just because something is more familiar (hotels) doesn't mean it's safer.
I'm more likely to buy a new iPod from a reputable, regulated shop, from a random guy on eBay/craigslist.
You're talking about small individual regulated hotels, which obviously would be a bit hit and miss with regard to quality/safety, just like buying an iPod from a small shop called the "eyeStore" is going to entail more risk than buying it from Apple or BestBuy etc.
I'm not making any blanket statements about regulation, I'm simply stating that in this particular case the safeguards provided to guests by the structure of AirBnB's business are superior to those provided by municipal hotel operation regulations. If you'd care to address this point directly I'm all ears.
If anything an AirBnB host infinitely more trackable and accountable than a hotel you book directly or through an oblivious intermediary (travel agent). Not to mention the countless minimum wage staff working for these hotels that are also much harder to thoroughly vet and trust individually than a single host.
Just because something is more familiar (hotels) doesn't mean it's safer.