Worth noting that not everyone is in favor of changing the hotel laws. Neighbors also likely dislike having short term renters. Sometimes lessors are in double violation - city and homeowners association covenants.
Absolutely — just like I’ve personally expressed doubts about not being able to tell limos apart from other cars: as a cyclist, both tend to park at random places; taxis also tend to drive more aggressively and pay less attention to side mirrors, I hope Uber drivers won't ever go that trend.
Taxi rules are not just about signaling trustworthy transporters to users.