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Airbnb expands to experiences

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Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#51

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

venantius wrote: post #10
hueving wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Thinking a little bigger, I can see no better way to combat bigotry and nationalism than to experience life the same way as humans from the other side of the planet, and realize that we are the same in so many ways. The people rich enough and willing to do this in the first place are usually not that bigoted/nationalistic. Someone who hates the French isn't going to volunteer to go live in a village in France for a…

Think about the other side of this - the host side. For hosts of these experiences, they don't need to be rich or capital-owning at all in order to be exposed to people of many different backgrounds through experiences.

To experience the rich capital owners of other countries?

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#52

Post by ryhamz »

Fuzzwah wrote: post #50
rorykoehler wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What were your motivations for this? It seems like the opposite experience of what I use Airbnb for. If people were after hand holding tourism it's unlikely they'd be using airbnb. Does this signal a shift in strategy away from what made us all start using airbnb in the first instance?

From what I learned about AirBnB's origin story via an episode of NPR's How I Built This [1], the original idea of AirBnB was a kind of "stay somewhere with a local and experience the place not as a tourist" experience. The fact that this kind of idea never went away even when everyone else found that AirBnB fullfilled a different requirement doesn't surprise me. [1] http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-thi…

Right. The original idea is now trashed. Airbnb doesn't care if someone is operating a 20 bunk bed dorm room that they don't actually live in, as long as they get a cut.

It couldn't get further from living like a local; it's just an AirBnHostel.

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#53

Post by GFK_of_xmaspast »

Alex3917 wrote: post #48
bsimpson wrote: post #37

I just got an EULA-wall asking to agree not to treat anyone on Airbnb "with bias or judgment" based on their origins. That's not how bias/judgment work. You can't just agree to be unbiased, though you can certainly try to be aware of your biases and to be accordingly more sensitive to situations where you may be biased. I wonder what the impact of this is. So many people blindly click "Agree" when presented with lega…

It's interesting to me that we hold AirBnB to one standard and Tinder / OKCupid to a completely different one, even though they're both essentially apps for finding someone whose house you can sleep in.

That's certainly a reckon, and one that reminds me of http://jezebel.com/incel-misogynist-wants-government-to-pay-...

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#54

Post by bogomipz »

Why not just go out and have your own experience and be guided by your own sense of adventure? Rent a bike and just explore. Stumbling upon new things without an app or a guide book is one of the greatest joys of traveling.

The usual response to this question is "well I only have a few days or my time is really limited." Which means you aren't going to "live like a local anyway" if you only have 72 hours.

The places actual locals frequent will now become boxes to be ticked on a "live like a local curated airbnb experience." And there will be lines of people all trying to have the "local experience" just as you are. And these are the people you will end up meeting and talking to. The actual locals will have gotten fed up and started going elsewhere.

This article is worth a read, I think someone posted it here a while back:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/3/12325104/airbnb-aesthetic-g...

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#55

Post by paulddraper »

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #53
Alex3917 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting to me that we hold AirBnB to one standard and Tinder / OKCupid to a completely different one, even though they're both essentially apps for finding someone whose house you can sleep in.

That's certainly a reckon, and one that reminds me of http://jezebel.com/incel-misogynist-wants-government-to-pay-...

tl;dr a man with social anxiety wants call girls to be covered by insurance

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#56

Post by paulddraper »

baybal2 wrote: post #17

Is it now a yet another pizza delivery/haircut scheduling app? Really, you should try that. You will make more money than on those "food anthropologist" thingies. ------- Ouch, -18? Are you downvoting me with your whole team?

You've underestimated the number of pizza delivery/haircut scheduling app developers on HN.

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#57

Post by princeb »

11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #2

This is awesome. My wife and I are planning a round the world trip to celebrate our last college tuition payment. We've talked about becoming 'Citizens of the World' and eschewing the canned tourist experiences to instead live the same lifestyle as the citizens of the countries we visit: Stay in a neighborhood instead of a high-rise hotel, shop at the same grocery stores, eat the same home-cooked meals, get around vi…

> combat bigotry and nationalism than to experience life the same way as humans from the other side of the planet

it's hard to do as a tourist because the whole point of travelling is to momentarily disconnect from the existential demands of life, which drives national sentiment.

unless in your quest to live like a local, you also experience the angst of employment, family, social pressure and social standing, and where your place in the world is going to be.

that's just not going to happen.

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#58

Post by thesimpsons1022 »

bsimpson wrote: post #37

I just got an EULA-wall asking to agree not to treat anyone on Airbnb "with bias or judgment" based on their origins. That's not how bias/judgment work. You can't just agree to be unbiased, though you can certainly try to be aware of your biases and to be accordingly more sensitive to situations where you may be biased. I wonder what the impact of this is. So many people blindly click "Agree" when presented with lega…

if hotels had to do this then our president elect would be out of business

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#59

Post by GuiA »

ecesena wrote: post #46
bsimpson wrote: post #37

I just got an EULA-wall asking to agree not to treat anyone on Airbnb "with bias or judgment" based on their origins. That's not how bias/judgment work. You can't just agree to be unbiased, though you can certainly try to be aware of your biases and to be accordingly more sensitive to situations where you may be biased. I wonder what the impact of this is. So many people blindly click "Agree" when presented with lega…

I think you're reading a bit too much in it. Say you hate Italians with a passion and I send you a request. You can surely tell me no, politely declining with any excuse you like. What you can't do is reply me in an offensive way, asking me for more money or anything else which strictly related to your hate. Or at least, you can but if you do that they can now ban you from the service. I was pretty surprised when I f…

I think you're interpreting it too charitably.

If you're Italian and send me a request, which I refuse on the sole basis that I hate Italians, no matter how politely, I am certainly acting with bias.

Re: Airbnb expands to experiences

#60

Post by japanese_donald »

kofejnik wrote: post #39

I'd rather prefer them to first stop skimming 50% on foreign exchange. Just today saw this screenshot in my fb feed, someone's reservation cost was converted at 100 rur/eur, whereas market rate is around 70 now. And they force payment in rubles, like if Russians don't have enough problems already.

I seriously doubt they are skimming. It's most likely the company that is actually doing the currency exchange that is overcharging AirBnB and they are pushing the cost onto the end user.
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