Like so many aspects of modern life, for many it's almost impossible to imagine what life was like before Airbnb.
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Even if you're not a regular user of the convenient short-stay accommodation platform, you'll probably know of it if only because of your aversion to it.
Its benefits for a consumer are many, from the ability to book for large groups, the cleaning services and the eclecticism of the rentals on offer, to the lack of hotel-room impersonality, and the ability to settle in, cook meals and live as though at home for varying periods.
It's also easier for travellers to find specialised accommodation - places that allow pets, for example, or have particular access for disabilities, or proximity to local amenities in areas where hotels and motels are scarce.
Not surprisingly, Canberra, as a generally avid adopter of tech commerce - see e-scooters, Uber and drone deliveries - has well and truly embraced Airbnb, where rentals on offer have, by some estimates, almost doubled.
The Airbnb marketplace has now been in place long enough for the novelty to wear off, and many of the downsides are showing.
The flexibility of the business model means it can be far more lucrative to offer your investment property - or even your own home - to short-stay renters, rather than opting for the traditional rental market.
In some places around the world, the short-stay market has dwarfed the rental market. And in areas where renters are seasonal - Canberra when Parliament isn't sitting, for example - properties on the Airbnb market may sit empty for long stretches.
Local communities may well feel more of a change in atmosphere and buzz than is usually the case in non-sitting weeks.
But it's worth pointing out the Airbnb business model makes a mockery of Canberra's usually very strictly imposed zoning laws, allowing tourists and holidaymakers to enjoy neighbourhoods usually reserved for residents.
And given Canberra's rapidly growing population and changing rental market, there is an argument for more regulation in the sector.
This could include caps on the number of Airbnb rentals in certain areas, although this, in itself, would require careful planning.
But the fact remains that, for all the concern, many seem to be benefiting from the Airbnb model.
Cleaners, for example, have never been more busy; some, it has been reported, can even make a full-time living from cleaning short-stay rentals.
Tourists have more options than before and more opportunities to stay in towns and regions where hotel options are few and far between.
But the problems that can and do arise are well-documented, and it's worthwhile addressing them before it's too late.
Canberra is small enough to embrace new technologies in ways that enhance the lives of everyone, from those in communities where short-stay options are numerous, to visitors who want options.
And the hotel sector needn't worry; there will always be people who default to hotels for a number of reasons. Some people revel in impersonal spaces with no rules imposed by anxious owners, and no likelihood of dirty looks from neighbourhood stalwarts.
Meanwhile, Canberra's Airbnb industry is growing, and this admittedly much-needed option needs attention. Let's make it an asset, rather than the liability it is already becoming in some of the world's most chaotic cities.
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