Airbnb has literally taken over the market and is probably the biggest "hotel room" provider in the world. They do a lot of things right. I have been associated with them since they started.
Same here ! Although I am not too crazy about them in DR...In LT, at least, you get a lot of agents who just represent the properties. So, their price tend to be above the "real" price if you go directly through the agent and their calendar are never updated (since several agents represent the same property). However, in July, I rented a place through an owner, it was perfect (retired couple from the Hospitality industry in France, and it makes a LOT of difference).
I have been hosting in New York as well for the past few years. My apartment is pretty much rented every time I travel, that makes traveling with my tribe less costly. Airbnb is awesome, never had a problem weather as a host or a guest.