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Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

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Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#131

Post by a13n »

conanbatt wrote: post #57
gringoDan wrote: post #43

They're often considered similar businesses, but intuitively it seems to me that, long-term, Airbnb will be valued higher than Uber and other ridesharing companies. Home rentals seem to be simpler market to operate in than coordinating real-time supply and demand between drivers & riders. Additionally, Uber seems to be facing issues on the driver side of the business - they have a $650 driver acquisition cost & a 12%…

What im not sure about is Airbnb's moat. They have a great brand name and all, but their service is very limited: 15% is a very large cut to take on these transactions. What prevents another company from doing the same at 12% and costing 50% to operate?

Marketplace network effects – Hosts are more likely to use Airbnb because they have the most guests. Guests are more likely to use Airbnb because they have the most hosts.

Instant book – A host can only have "instant book" on for one platform at a time, otherwise their listing could get overbooked. They'll likely leave this on for Airbnb because they have more guests than any other platform, which adds friction to booking for other platforms.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#132

Post by atombender »

warp_factor wrote: post #113

I'm a regular user of Airbnbs AND hotels. I usually prefer staying in hotels and will look for Airbnb only as a second choice. Reasons are: - Price is usually higher on Airbnb. - Airbnb crazy fees for multiple people, cleaning scam, outrageous service fees etc. - Inconvenience to not have a 24H reception where I can get my keys. The real genius of Airbnb is that they convinced a lot of people that they shouldn't look…

They are different experiences. AirBnB can give you an entire place to yourself, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, multiple rooms, facilities such as a pool, balcony, and so on. An AirBnB is often located where people actually live, not in the middle of a busy downtown.

With a hotel, you get... a hotel room. There are some great hotels out there that stand out in many ways, especially if you're very wealthy, but your average hotel is very average. Generic interior design, generic wall-to-wall carpeting, generic wall art, a mini fridge where a soda costs $10, and some kind of weird desk/table/cabinet setup that's mostly home to a lonely-looking Keurig machine and an ice bucket.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I genuinely don't want to visit a hotel. The only time I'd be interested is if I'm staying 1-2 nights for a business trip or something where the only purpose is to have a place to sleep and store one's property.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#133

Post by [deleted] »

opportune wrote: post #33
toomuchtodo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The places where Airbnb has left to grow are more likely to enact legislation restricting their operation. The low hanging fruit is already picked.

Highly disagree, I see Airbnb growing massively in the developing world as local safety+tourism infrastructure, desire to travel there, and internet familiarity/enough English to make a listing among those living there increase in the next 10-20 years. Of course, Airbnb is already big in places like Bali, but over time I see essentially all areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Ecuador etc. becoming vacation destinations

[deleted]

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#134

Post by welder »

warp_factor wrote: post #113

I'm a regular user of Airbnbs AND hotels. I usually prefer staying in hotels and will look for Airbnb only as a second choice. Reasons are: - Price is usually higher on Airbnb. - Airbnb crazy fees for multiple people, cleaning scam, outrageous service fees etc. - Inconvenience to not have a 24H reception where I can get my keys. The real genius of Airbnb is that they convinced a lot of people that they shouldn't look…

> Price is usually higher on Airbnb

Only in Asia. In Western countries Airbnb is almost always cheaper than hotels. I still use Airbnb in Asia because you get nicer places with more space.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#135

Post by xemdetia »

Does anyone know if this was due to a trim the fat internal cost cutting in classical MBA form? This sounds like more trying to stoke interest into the IPO. Other than IPO shenanigans they have felt like they are in general decline in interest from my local scope and the only successful ones I have heard of are people that genuinely need a houseworth of space for two weeks or more internationally.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#136

Post by jeremyis »

bradleyjg wrote: post #104
reading-at-work wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the overwhelming majority of its facilitated transactions are illegal. Any source on that? I know some municipalities regulate rentals now, but to say that the vast majority of them operate illegally is a bold claim to make with no data presented.

In NYC, Airbnb’s largest market, with tiny exceptions, it is illegal to rent out an entire apartment (i.e. host not present) for less than 30 days.

I don't think NYC is Airbnb's largest market.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#137

Post by mjrbrennan »

warp_factor wrote: post #113

I'm a regular user of Airbnbs AND hotels. I usually prefer staying in hotels and will look for Airbnb only as a second choice. Reasons are: - Price is usually higher on Airbnb. - Airbnb crazy fees for multiple people, cleaning scam, outrageous service fees etc. - Inconvenience to not have a 24H reception where I can get my keys. The real genius of Airbnb is that they convinced a lot of people that they shouldn't look…

In Australia my anecdotal experience is that hotels are ALWAYS more expensive than Airbnbs, usually at minimum $150 a night and going straight up from there. Also the benefit of having a whole house with all the facilities using Airbnb is usually far better than any hotel, though I do enjoy staying in nice hotels now and then.

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#138

Post by parthdesai »

Zimahl wrote: post #92
longerthoughts wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they ignore regulations and simply extract wealth out of our communities Can you elaborate on this?

I'm not the person you are asking but I'll lay out how I understand this argument from what I've read about the housing market in Portland, OR, which has a big housing crisis right now. Available housing, apartments, condos, etc, is being eaten up by short-term renters. The price of short-term rentals are more expensive than long-term rentals, but due to so much inventory not being free for long-term rentals, the pri…

Ditto for Toronto

Re: Ahead of IPO, Airbnb achieves profitability for second year in a row

#139

Post by wilg »

gringoDan wrote: post #43

They're often considered similar businesses, but intuitively it seems to me that, long-term, Airbnb will be valued higher than Uber and other ridesharing companies. Home rentals seem to be simpler market to operate in than coordinating real-time supply and demand between drivers & riders. Additionally, Uber seems to be facing issues on the driver side of the business - they have a $650 driver acquisition cost & a 12%…

Which is worse on cities, Uber or Airbnb?

(My gut says Airbnb.)

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