AirBNB pays taxes too. They don’t circumvent the system in Barcelona, that was fixed a long time ago. Now they just displace locals because the nightly rate is higher than the monthly rate. Even if it’s empty most of the time. Which is a real shame.
It’s going to hurt small time renters. I stayed in an AirBNB in 2013, it was rented out by a lovely family. It was a fantastic experience, staying in a nice neighborhood off the beaten path. We stayed for a few months, too, and we were respectful, not puking all over the place etc. A lot of locals invested in furnishing rentals for AirBNB. At least, that was the scene 9 years ago. No idea what it’s like now.
I think people are starting to catch on to that. Maybe I’m overly optimistic though.