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OP, this person believes we are all part of a hotel conspiracy against airbnb.

This is technical double speak to avoid the issue: the rentals themselves are illegal.

Short term bans are illegal in xNYC as quoted above.
Advocating illegal activity is against forum rules.

Feel free to use it where it is not illegal.

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"OP, this person believes we are all part of a hotel conspiracy against airbnb."

Bzookaj is not quite right here, I believe that there is some sort of organized effort by people in
the High Priced hotel and vacation rental business to discourage and stop ordinary citizens from freely accepting paying guests into their homes, primarily because it hurts their business in a BIG way. Airbnb and others have created a great business model that enables travelers to choose from thousands of
private accommodations that are offered in private homes, apartments and other residential
places. At, what are sometimes great prices. This takes business away from more expensive places
which has the effect of lowering the property values of these places. Also many of these rentals may
not be collecting and paying local "travel taxes", which is a significant sum of money in some places
and local government counts on it. So, do I believe that everyone on this site who tries to discourage travelers from taking advantage of the great deals at Airbnb is part of a hotel conspiracy? NO! Some
of them are acting in concert with the Hotel and real estate interests in trying to suppress freedom
and a free market for travel rentals out of confusion as to what their own interests actually are. But
I don't believe that all of them are agents of some conspiracy.
I believe also that it serves Lonely Planet and the travel industry's highest and best interests to promote low cost home-stay type accommodation so that more people can afford to travel more often.

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I am still keen to use Airbnb. I do like the idea of staying with a local for a few days. So I'd prefer to stay in a house/apartment where I am sharing with the owner, as opposed to renting an entire apartment. Seems more like the travel experience I'm looking for.

I've look at some of the places we are going to to see what Airbnb has to offer. There are some way cute places to share in Oakland! Very affordable too. :)

Sorry, I have another question regarding New Orleans. It seems like the most time vs. cost efficient way to get from Orlando to New Orleans is to fly (with Southwest Airlines). Is it worth getting a rental car there to sights outside of the city centre? Or is it too difficult to find accommodation in the centre with free/cheap parking?

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This article in the Washington Monthly covers my views on the short term rental controversy pretty well.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/julyaugust_2012/features/diy_bb038421.php

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See? Conspiracy.

OP, as I said, feel free to use it where it is legal. Unfortunately, that is not xNYC.

First, a quick note:
We don't generally talk of "city center" in the US. This usually means "downtown," which is often dominated by business buildings.
Anyway, you do want a car, at least to get out to the plantations to the north (try Laura or Oak Alley). But it is very difficult to find free parking in downtown or the xFrench Quarter (it's difficult to park in the latter anyway), and in fact, I don't know of any. You may have better luck in the xGarden District.