I agree it reads like a ad for Airbnb.

So, I get the feeling, or at least I hope that once Airbnb shares its data, its going to prove what we kind of already know, that Airbnb is out of control.

Lets take one of those cities in the article, Amsterdam.

I live in Europe, and what i noticed each time I visited;

• 12 years ago during summer, Airbnb existed, but wasn't as popular. Amsterdam during peak season was crowded downtown, but still walkable. The Airbnb's listed were peoples houses/apartments
• 8 years ago during summer, Hotels were fully booked, and Airbnb is more popular but there was space, the local shops downtown are still the same, but streets are getting more crowded. The Airbnb's listed were a mix of peoples houses/apartments, and also some that looked purpose made as pseudo-hotels.
• 4 years ago during winter, The hotels are fully booked, and the airbnb's were packed too. The streets were impossible to walk down, some of the local shops seemed to have changed to serving very tourist focused meals. The Airbnb listings look mostly like pseudo-hotels now.

The issue isn't hotels, it's Airbnb's, it's also not the weed or sex availability, it's the fact that theres SO many Airbnb's. If there was regulation around how many there were, or how often/long someone could list on Airbnb that would be great. If there was a cap on how many places were available to tourists, you could have more control on how many tourists.

I know Amsterdam tried to limit Airbnb, but eventually lost due to the rich people complaining and having the law overturned.

My point with this whole long post, is It's getting worse.

Also, one more thing, you said "gentrify city centers", and yes in general I agree, but I think the larger issue isn't gentrification, but more that theres a loss of local culture or local things for tourist focused stores/things/etc .. you can have gentrification but also keep the local spirit. It's harder for sure.