It's gone way, way beyond people buying places to rent out on Airbnb now though, @Gordon0, although that does still happen, particularly with foreign investors and speculators.
The really scary thing is, that by far the biggest game in town now (and for the past several years), is Airbnb arbitrage. Every Tom, **bleep** and Harriet is engaging in this practice these days - which is, leasing out vast numbers of properties (often on 5, 7 or even 10 year contracts, sometimes entire apartment blocks, sometimes several floors of aq block, sometimes individual units), to re-rent on Airbnb. And the more, the merrier. "Rentrepreneurs", they like to call themselves.
Top of the "mega-host" arbitrage tree at the moment is Sonder, with their "controversial" background, $1 billion valuation, $400 million in funding propping them up, and 10,000+ rental spaces around the world, with numbers increasing by the day.
I can't tell you how incensed I was to see Sonder slithering into the market here in Dublin last summer, at exactly the same time as new regulations were being implemented, which effectively make it next to impossible for the vast majority of small, local hosts to carry on operating (and I'm only mentioning Sonder because they're probably the most recognisable name - they're just one of countless arbitrage companies that have taken over the market here)
Coincidentally, Sonder just happens to be listing several floors of an apartment block right next door to Airbnb's flagship office here, and Airbnb's VP of Community Support just happens to sit on the Council of Dublin City Chamber of Commerce alongside the Managing Partner of the salubrious Dublin law firm, whose offices just happens to also be the official registered address of Sonder Ireland. Funny, dat...
Rapidly gaining momentum in the arbitrage arena too is Lyric, another skyrocketing "mega-host", in whom Airbnb led a $160 million funding round last April, and whose inventory is also increasing at a rate of knots. (You know something has gone horribly wrong when small, local hosts are being forced by Airbnb to compete for bookings in the very same searches as "hosts" that the company itself is funding to the tune of millions)
And then you have the Airbnb arbitrage "gurus", who are making a mint by flogging their "expertise", instructing those who have never done a minute's hosting in their lives, how to rapidly amass dozens/scores of properties each (other people's properties), to punt out on Airbnb.
Head on over to check out Sean Rakidzich's Airbnb Automated group on FB, if you want to get some idea of the utter madness that's going on in this sector. The reasons why Airbnb hosts in general are getting such a bad rep, will suddenly become much clearer.
How I Make Millions On Airbnb With No Property And No Credit
https://youtu.be/r7dlbV6HzCI
How To Make A Fortune On Airbnb Without Owning A Single Home
https://youtu.be/KQ94UAGCnUA