I previously ran three Airbnb's. While many tenants were respectful, many were not. The ones that were not respectful caused externalities that the community had to bear.
The worst of these was in a condo community that is welcoming of STR. The tenant threw a massive multi-day party causing in excess of 13,000 in damage and angering many neighbors. We had to involve the police (residents tax dollars at work) and then the neighbors had to endure several weeks of rehab work.
So, while I agree to an extent that one should be able to use their property to their liking, if the use is creating externalities that create a burden on other residents, including city expenditures/tax burden, then I see this as a problem.
The hotel industry is very profitable even with regulations in place. I'm not sure banning STR is the solution, but it does need more regulation. I feel a license from the AHJ is an appropriate regulation as is a tax to offset the costs imposed on the community. I also feel part of the licensing process should be a requirement for approval from your neighbors.
As for the comment: "Running it as a long-term rental is more or less no different than running it as an apartment. Would you ban single-family rentals because they compete with apartments?" Running a single family property as a long-term rental is much different than running an apartment.
A long-term tenant consisting of one family living in the property is non-transient in manner and in keeping with the intended use per zoning. So they can't afford/don't want to own real estate, that doesn't mean they don't belong in the neighborhood as long as they can afford it and the meet the owner's rental requirements. Transient use (a.k.a. STR) makes the use of the property an anomaly as the majority of the neighbors are invested socially, emotionally and financially in the livability, stability and security of the neighborhood.
It is important that people feel safe and comfortable in their homes.
