This is absolutely correct. Hotels are optimized for a very particular pattern of travel: individuals or couples who use the accommodation solely to sleep. Many, many other use cases are actually more economically serviced by vacation rentals, mainly due to the availability of a full kitchen and comfortable, aesthetic, and private common spaces such as living rooms, pools, decks, and hot tubs as part of the offering, and greater flexibility with location.
Consider, for instance, the following:
* 3 or more couples wish to travel together. They'll be doing some touristy things during the day, perhaps, but half of the fun of the vacation will be hanging out and bonding in the evenings, having wine in the hot tub, deep personal conversations in the living room, whatever it is they do. A 3+ bedroom vacation rental will accommodate this more economically than any similar hotel situation, even when they do exist.
* A family wishes to travel together. They have an infant, a small child who is a picky eater, a ten year-old boy and a thirteen year-old girl who refuse to share a room, and one of the parent's mother who will take care of the infant at "home" while the rest of the family does some of the more challenging activities. This group probably doesn't want to eat out for every meal and needs a comfortable and pleasing space for the grandmother to stay in for long periods of time during the day.
* Three or four bikers have found a beautiful route in a less-travelled semi-rural area. The nearest hotel is 15 miles away with no bikeable route, but there is a vacation rental just one mile away on rural roads. No need to bring the bikes into the hotel room, no need to rack the bikes on the car to get to the trailhead. Get the bikes from the garage and go.
* A small startup team is attending a conference. They'll be having business meetings all day, so it is important for them to be together to prepare their pitches in the morning and be together in the evening to review the results and strategize. Local hotels and restaurants are full of their competitors, and a private space will help them to focus.
* A couple has always wanted to visit an amazing locale. One of them has a significant food allergy to an ingredient commonly used in local cuisine, and the area is not known for being accommodating in this way. Because of the allergy, they are used to cooking for themselves, and would prefer to do that rather than, say, eat hamburgers every day at the hotel restaurant. Having a well-equipped kitchen is important to them.
I could keep going. The vast majority of my travel is in situations like the above that are more possible, economical, and/or pleasant in vacation rentals than in hotels. I've been using them 3-6 times a year for the past 15 years. (I used VRBO before AirBnB.) I can't imagine going back to staying in hotels for most of my travel.
Consider, for instance, the following:
* 3 or more couples wish to travel together. They'll be doing some touristy things during the day, perhaps, but half of the fun of the vacation will be hanging out and bonding in the evenings, having wine in the hot tub, deep personal conversations in the living room, whatever it is they do. A 3+ bedroom vacation rental will accommodate this more economically than any similar hotel situation, even when they do exist.
* A family wishes to travel together. They have an infant, a small child who is a picky eater, a ten year-old boy and a thirteen year-old girl who refuse to share a room, and one of the parent's mother who will take care of the infant at "home" while the rest of the family does some of the more challenging activities. This group probably doesn't want to eat out for every meal and needs a comfortable and pleasing space for the grandmother to stay in for long periods of time during the day.
* Three or four bikers have found a beautiful route in a less-travelled semi-rural area. The nearest hotel is 15 miles away with no bikeable route, but there is a vacation rental just one mile away on rural roads. No need to bring the bikes into the hotel room, no need to rack the bikes on the car to get to the trailhead. Get the bikes from the garage and go.
* A small startup team is attending a conference. They'll be having business meetings all day, so it is important for them to be together to prepare their pitches in the morning and be together in the evening to review the results and strategize. Local hotels and restaurants are full of their competitors, and a private space will help them to focus.
* A couple has always wanted to visit an amazing locale. One of them has a significant food allergy to an ingredient commonly used in local cuisine, and the area is not known for being accommodating in this way. Because of the allergy, they are used to cooking for themselves, and would prefer to do that rather than, say, eat hamburgers every day at the hotel restaurant. Having a well-equipped kitchen is important to them.
I could keep going. The vast majority of my travel is in situations like the above that are more possible, economical, and/or pleasant in vacation rentals than in hotels. I've been using them 3-6 times a year for the past 15 years. (I used VRBO before AirBnB.) I can't imagine going back to staying in hotels for most of my travel.