Beds/rooms/ houses rented by private homes

Hello,
I was surprised not to find any discussion on this trend here...
What is your take on airbnb, istopover, crashpadder, craigslist etc? (not even talking about couchsurfing)
Do you, as a hostel owner, think they affect your business? Do you feel disadvantaged since you probably had to go through a permit process with your local government, still deal with annual inspections, pay taxes, often additional occupational taxes etc? In think they are not legal in the US but not much is done about it. (Except recent changes in NYC and SFO initiated by hotel lobby ? - not sure if I got all my facts straight here).
I am planning on opening a small family-house-sized hostel - the permit, getting the house to code, making it accessible, paving parking spaces, dealing with fire code regulations etc make this project very expensive - so why do it if I can do it 'under the radar'? (not really considering later option although people make these suggestions, all the time)
Thanks for your thoughts and input.