But with hotels, too, you can end up with something that isn't to your satisfaction, contrary to how it's presented in the listing and contrary to your expectations. Hotels are likely to be more consistent here, but there's never any guarantee.

One difference is in the ability to rectify such issues. Since Airbnb is a middleman who doesn't own the property, and the host is potentially not able to be physically present (e.g. it's a short-term sublet while the host is on a trip, as opposed to a permanent Airbnb), the blame may technically lie with the host, but Airbnb's platform is also responsible. Airbnb can't pretend they're merely a passive hosting platform for hosts, and needs to tread more carefully in handling such disputes.