I am team hotel outside of a few specific circumstances, but the calculus might be different for you. David and I (pre-Bear) spent part of the pandemic working from other locations in the US and renting houses, which worked great during that crazy time. When we started traveling with Bear in Europe, I just really wanted to stay in hotels again, and generally, hotels are in easier locations. Another big advantage of hotels over rentals is your access to people who are in the hospitality sector of your vacation destination, and they are usually wonderful resources.
That being said, if we are sticking around a place that has a robust rental market and it isn’t illegal, we definitely rent houses/apartments if it makes sense. If someone in your travel team has specific food needs, then having a kitchen during your trip might be a requirement instead of a nice-to-have. There are hotels that can work in this situation, but you would be really limiting yourself in a major way if you did not also consider home or apartment rentals if this is your reality.
We look at home and apartment rentals most often on larger family trips, in more rural places, or in places where we know the market well and we are staying for longer than a couple of days. Renting an apartment or house obviously has the immense advantage of more space and a full kitchen, but in a lot of places in Europe and in the US, home rentals have created huge issues.
I also think the potential downside if you pick a dud property/landlord is just not worth the risk. We have personally had issues with bad hosts in Texas. Criminally bad hosts. And one of my friends in Germany even had the German police break down the door of a place she was renting because the owner was up to something they did not approve of. I have not experienced something like this at a hotel and hopefully I never will.
Look, it can work, but at this point, if you do your research on hotels, the odds of something truly awful happening are much lower than with renting a house or apartment. I tend to use VRBO over Airbnb, and I have been wanting to try Altido (now owned by Joivy it appears) in London if we are ever there long enough because it is more of a boutique agency that appears to have some quality control. If we ever use them, I will be sure to report back.
Best wishes and bon voyage!