151–160 of 241 posts
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I have an axe to grind against mini-hotels that operate without regulation that raise rents for everyone while providing massive money to a small number of interests. So yeah.
So, you're mad at Airbnb because the government isn't regulating it properly?
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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 am curious if Mayor Bill de Blasio will go after landlords who permit or partake of this following his recent declaration they will confiscate property of landlords they consider abusive or failing to maintain property to new standards. Of course he plans to turn them over to non profits which is code for politically connected groups which support him, but the idea that they don't put an Airbnb clause into the abus…
What about the property rights of the landlord? The co-op? Fellow condo owners? In addition to violating state law most of these units in NYC are being rented in violation of signed agreements (leases, proprietary leases, condo rules incorporated into purchase agreements).
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Vancouver brought in regulations to try to regulate Airbnb into actually behaving like the service is intended, that is to ensure that people are simply renting out other rooms in their residence and are not buying condos with the explicit purpose of renting them out full time like virtual hotels. It's abundantly clear that Airbnb has zero interest in helping Vancouver enforce these rules. Vancouver has had to strugg…
It's not Airbnb's responsibility to enforce the law. Full stop.
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I'd argue that CL actually has a fantastic UI, it presents all the information you need, and nothing you don't, in a format that is quick to read. The only feature it's missing (or was missing the last time I needed it) is a map based list of housing for rent so you can simply filter out 90% of the listings that you'd never consider based on location anyways. That and a "prevent all Craigslist stereotypes from respon…
But it's not about presenting information. It's a completely different experience. AirBnB handholds the traveller from the moment they start looking to when they're going on the trip. CL just presents an ad, and lets the parties email/text on their own. AirBnB handles the financial transactions, with all that that entails, and CL does not. AirBnB facilitates the communication between the landlord and the customer. Th…
It _could_ introduce more barriers to reduce scammers, but that would come at a cost to both buyer and seller UX.
There is value in simplicity, and the market thus far agrees.
Craigslist is the anti-thesis to the hubris-fueled notion that technology can and should solve every problem, including dishonesty. I've not yet been scammed on Craigslist because I've built up a valuable skill in identifying scammers in general rather than relying on an imperfect system implemented differently on all marketplaces. In return, I do not get scammed as a _seller_, which is something most marketplaces seem to neglect.
More broadly, we often blame human nature on software implementations, as if there was a software solution to (all of) such without trade-offs.
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1. There's usually a limited number of shares to short an IPO 2. Given the extreme volatility of IPOs and small amount of past history on a company's fundamentals, this will essentially be gambling with the potential of unlimited downside Good luck!
you can buy puts and easily limit your down side. edit: whoever downvoted this, do you not understand how buying puts works? your risk is capped at the money you spent on the contracts. you can only lose that amount.
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> 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.
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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?
Nothing prevents another company from doing that, but all of the hosts & guests are already on Airbnb. Two-sided marketplaces are very difficult to start, but once they have some momentum, it's even more difficult to unseat them. Look at Craigslist - terrible UI, hundreds of startups have tried to challenge it in the past 15+ years, and yet it's still my go-to when I need to sell some old furniture.
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, bu…
The only advantage you get from an AirBnB is a unique facade, paired with having to clean up after yourself and possible fire and health code violations.
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Vancouver brought in regulations to try to regulate Airbnb into actually behaving like the service is intended, that is to ensure that people are simply renting out other rooms in their residence and are not buying condos with the explicit purpose of renting them out full time like virtual hotels. It's abundantly clear that Airbnb has zero interest in helping Vancouver enforce these rules. Vancouver has had to strugg…
It's not Airbnb's responsibility to enforce the law. Full stop.
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…
There's something really nice about being able to cook in an AirBnB, after the kids have taken their showers and are in their PJs, and all sit around the table as a family, and then have them do the bed routine shortly after, perhaps after watching a bit of TV.
At a hotel, you generally have to at least exit your room to go to the restaurant in the hotel... which breaks the whole "family groove" and makes it harder to keep the kids "in the zone" (everybody has to change clothes, etc . I find it much more difficult to manage because the hotel is essentially a bedroom/bathroom, nothing more.