Home Away From Home
Airbnb changed everything. Yes, there were vacation rental services long before the home-sharing juggernaut launched, but its software and scale have opened up a completely new way of exploring the world. Travelers once limited to hotels in tourist quarters or friend-of-a-friend recommendations now have the ability to easily stay in far-flung neighborhoods and architecturally significant homes, seeking out what it might be like to actually live in a place rather than just consume its guidebook-approved offerings. Of course, home sharing has been a double-edged sword. In cities like Barcelona, tourism has metastasized to the point of squeezing out locals, and in places like London, New York, and San Francisco, it has contributed to a choking affordability crisis. On the other hand, it has also created opportunities for forging human connections.…