I have to leave this any time I hear about price gouging.

High prices in times of scarcity are a good thing. They encourage sellers to sell more, and encourage more sellers to enter the market. They encourage buyers to not waste the scarce resources they have access to.

Higher Airbnb prices happened because there was a surge in demand for beds in the city. Good! These higher prices mean that a family that might have normally booked a 3 bedroom will now book a studio, and then 2 families can book the 3 bedroom they didn’t book. And it means that normal people with a little extra space in their homes will get on airbnb for a week or two to take advantage of this moneymaking opportunity, opening up spare bedrooms and couches.