Airbnb crowding out is a symptom, not a cause of housing shortages

Apparently the author is unfamiliar with the verb, "to exacerbate":

https://www.wordnik.com/words/exacerbate

Meaning, in this context: no one is saying that Airbnb is the cause of housing shortages -- what they're saying is that they're taking already bad situation, and making it significantly worse. At least, that's what they're saying. Whether the data, currently only scarcely available, bear this claim out is an entirely different point. But the basic point is, to start of by saying "Airbnb is not a cause of housing shortages" is to make a straw man argument.