I've also seen some folks with too much money and not enough common sense absolutely abuse high-quality camera gear they'd rented. (Hope they had really good insurance on it!) Don't get me started on the lady who said "she wanted the best gear, so she could take professional shots" and who had rented something like $20k of stuff which she couldn't even figure out how to use...

I also don't know that rental or AirB&B-style private rentals would necessarily cover all the specialized gear. I bet it would be hard to find a tilt-shift lens near a lot of places I've traveled and used one; likewise, although I suppose I could find a 500mm or 600mm telephoto in places with a lot of wildlife, I doubt the supply is such to meet demand should everyone have to rent locally (nor would it likely grow quickly, even in response to a ban; recouping that $11k investment takes a lot of rentals...).