This is an excellent point that people miss when talking about the 'sharing economy' The difference in price between equivalent quality airBnBs and traditional

This is an excellent point that people miss when talking about the 'sharing economy' The difference in price between equivalent quality airBnBs and traditional hotels can be attributed to a few things: 1) Difference in demand due to people being more comfortable in anonymous hotels 2) Inherent efficiency in 'sharing', because the owner was going to own the property whether or not they rent it out. 3) Corruption. Unfair zoning and political influence of hotel industry. 4) The risk that you mention is priced into hotel rooms, but not into airBnBs. 5) External costs. The negative impact on the neighborhood (traffic, noise, damage) caused by high-turnover renters. Hotels pay some of this through extra taxes and regulation, while sharers pay none of it. Now to the extent the price difference is made up of 1,2, and 3, the sharing economy is great. We are moving towards a more efficient marketplace, with lower prices and better quality for everyone. The trouble is, the hotel industry is already pretty competitive. So I would guess that a good amount of the price difference actually resides in 4 and 5, in which case the sharing economy is saving travelers money and taking it out of the pocket of the hosts and local communities.