This is not exactly an apples to apples comparison. They're comparing the median room rate of hotels to Airbnb.
However, your average Airbnb apartment and the average hotel room are nothing alike. Most of the Airbnb's I've used are far closer to what I'd expect in a suite at a moderately nice hotel. If you compare that, the price of two diverges immensely.
Just recently I spent three days on a 60 ft barge on the Seine in Paris opposite the Louvre. There is really no comparison to even a high-end hotel there (and I've stayed in several in Paris), but it was maybe 30% of the cost of a comparable experience I'd find for that location and living space size.
I could be an abnormality in my usage of Airbnb. I actually pay about what I'd expect to for a standard hotel room. I just expect what I'd get in a suite minus room service.
On the other side of the coin, your hotel is unlikely to cancel on you at the last minute (which happened to me recently with an Airbnb). So you are accepting a certain level of risk. It's also less convenient to book an Airbnb, especially if you are only staying one night because most hosts have a two night minimum. Mostly, I agree with you, though.
While I was attending a training course in 2001 - I arrived at the Doubletree in Richardson, Texas on a sunday night to discover that the room I had booked, and provided my credit card for - was not available to me. Even worse than a cancellation, as now we had to scramble to find another hotel at 11:00 PM on a sunday night (in richardson, texas)
A friend of mine recently had the Four Seasons in San Francisco cancel on him. He found out when he arrived. Of course, they had a car waiting to take him to the Hotel Intercontinental and comped him for his troubles, but it does happen.
I have had hotels cancel on me. Some hotels have a policy that if you don't check in by 2am they will give your room away, and no amount of calling ahead and negotiating will change that.
Most of the Airbnb's I've used are far closer to what I'd expect in a suite at a moderately nice hotel
I think that AirBnB operates very differently at different price points. Once you're paying more than $x, you're right- you basically get whole apartments. And below $x you're paying less than you could ever expect for a hotel room. But in the middle is this awkward area where you're paying a relatively decent amount to stay in someone's spare room, and have to deal with the extra complications that brings but without the larger benefits.
Would you be willing to send/provide the link to this barge you stayed on? I'm taking my wife to Europe (last major trip before children), and I would absolutely love for her to have this experience.
Send me an email. jordan at zenzen dt org. I've stayed in plenty of other Airbnb's in Paris too. So far, I haven't gone wrong.
This was a little more expensive than normal (but we had company staying in the other two small cabins so and really utilized the deck on top since Pont des Arts is one of the best views of the sunset in Paris and it is docked right there) and I happen to love boats. If you don't like a little gentle rocking, it may not be for you.
However, your average Airbnb apartment and the average hotel room are nothing alike. Most of the Airbnb's I've used are far closer to what I'd expect in a suite at a moderately nice hotel. If you compare that, the price of two diverges immensely.
Just recently I spent three days on a 60 ft barge on the Seine in Paris opposite the Louvre. There is really no comparison to even a high-end hotel there (and I've stayed in several in Paris), but it was maybe 30% of the cost of a comparable experience I'd find for that location and living space size.
I could be an abnormality in my usage of Airbnb. I actually pay about what I'd expect to for a standard hotel room. I just expect what I'd get in a suite minus room service.