And if it ever went to court, Airbnb would pour so many lawyers into getting that case thrown out that you'd never see a dime of it. It is imperative that a lawsuit like this never get publicity, or else they'd lose billions of dollars in valuation instantly, which would make investors very cranky.
I'm not a lawyer - are you allowed to do that? Can a third-party inject itself into a contract dispute between two parties?
They would just fund the renter's legal team.
Would a judge for a local municipality look kindly upon that sort of interference?
If they couldn't do it directly, I don't know that there's a problem with providing legal counsel for someone? Or paying for their lawyer, at the very least? I am NOT any sort of lawyer and have no experience with this at all, so this is all just my imaginative thinking.
Most landlord claims end up in small claims court.
If their goal is to avoid bad PR, they'd probably just pay landlord hush money. (I'm sure they're already doing this)