The paper may be commissioned by Airbnb, but I think the fundamental findings are pretty solid. Of course I'm probably fairly biased because I'm a pretty heavy

The paper may be commissioned by Airbnb, but I think the fundamental findings are pretty solid. Of course I'm probably fairly biased because I'm a pretty heavy Airbnb user, with more than ten Airbnb stays in NYC in the last couple years. From what I've experienced Airbnb has allowed me to stay in areas of the city that have few hotels or poor hotel coverage. I'm not the kind of person who enjoys Midtown. I can't stand the tourist crowds, most of the restaurants are horrible and there is no way in hell that I'm going to spend $200 a night of startup money on staying at a Midtown hotel. So when I'm in NYC with the startup I work for I'll stay in Williamsburg at a cheap Airbnb place. Because of this I'm usually able to stay around three weeks, and during that time my money is going to local restaurants, bars, and convenience stores in Williamsburg and the LES. All considered I probably still spend the same amount of money as your average Midtown tourist, because I stay in NYC much longer even though my expenses per day are lower than if I was staying in corporate hotels. But the important thing is that the money I do spend is going to a local resident (90% of the Airbnbs I've stayed at have been renting a room in the primary residence of the Airbnb host), and to small local businesses, not to big corporate chain hotels and chain restaurants in Midtown. I consider this to be a good thing.