> Because their regulatory capture is so entrenched that we don't even think about it.
Nonsense. Residents don't complain about hotels because of the perception that hotels are too expensive for poor and working-class people to afford. Whereas the perception of apartments is that they are cheap enough that such people will choose to live in them.
It's all about not wanting to live near "poor" people.
Clearly your familiarity with lower-tier hotels is limited. People can and do complain when Motel 6 wants to build.
> It's all about not wanting to live near "poor" people.
That much is true. And mostly because poor people make poor neighbors.