Why does Airbnb have no competitors? The site itself is not a huge value add. Their search is not fantastic.
Uber has Lyft, Airbnb has ... vrbo??? no major competitors?
Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
91–100 of 153 posts
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
They had a thriving business model before it, and there won’t be fewer WFH people after Covid
Thriving business model while the slow cooker of regulations don't catch up to them. There are reports of some touristic cities starting to cap Airbnb rentals, or just outright outlawing them. It's for good measure, Airbnbs in Barcelona, Lisboa and a number of other European cities have priced out the local population, investors buying 4-10 apartments on the same house to rent out as short-term rentals. Airbnb create…
Illegal taxis and rental housing (whether short or long term) have been around forever though. And they weren't just a fringe thing. College students and immigrant groups may predominantly use them in many places. If there's a current increase in such things, I'd blame it on the factors and regulations restricting the legal supply of these things rather than on airbnb/uber.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#93Not an employee but overall I am quite bullish on Airbnb as ironically they will be the definition of a what a post-covid travel company will become. Couple points in their favour: 1. Work from home becomes work from anywhere: The WFH trend is here to stay and will grow. If you have an option why not stay anywhere in world and work vs. close by home? I expect we will see a big % of WFH markets be global travelers. Pr…
One reason why I might gravitate towards Airbnb over a bigger hotel is that atleast in my country, larger hotels have central air conditioning, while Airbnbs usually don't. This makes them far safer as far as Covid transmission is concerned
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#94Not an employee but overall I am quite bullish on Airbnb as ironically they will be the definition of a what a post-covid travel company will become. Couple points in their favour: 1. Work from home becomes work from anywhere: The WFH trend is here to stay and will grow. If you have an option why not stay anywhere in world and work vs. close by home? I expect we will see a big % of WFH markets be global travelers. Pr…
One reason why I might gravitate towards Airbnb over a bigger hotel is that atleast in my country, larger hotels have central air conditioning, while Airbnbs usually don't. This makes them far safer as far as Covid transmission is concerned
counterpoint: your larger hotel probably has to uphold some sanitary regulation, if only because they could get sued into oblivion if they didn't, while a random airbnb host likely does not.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#95Not an employee but overall I am quite bullish on Airbnb as ironically they will be the definition of a what a post-covid travel company will become. Couple points in their favour: 1. Work from home becomes work from anywhere: The WFH trend is here to stay and will grow. If you have an option why not stay anywhere in world and work vs. close by home? I expect we will see a big % of WFH markets be global travelers. Pr…
? They are being devastated by COVID which could linger for a while. Their biggest risk is regulatory and taxation. Many AirBnBs are illegal, and what will really grind government to act are the potential lost revenues. I think they will do just fine, it's a matter of valuation.
> Their biggest risk is regulatory and taxation. Many AirBnBs are illegal, and what will really grind government to act are the potential lost revenues
And if they are legal, they tend to be a bit boring.
When I look at some cities, agencies rent out tons of flat commercially. In In Porto I found over 100+ flats managed by one agency, they were dominating the list.
airbnb is not so interesting anymore when the flats look all the same worldwide, you never see the actual owner and the person checking you in has no real connection with the apartment and can't help you with issues too much.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by "shady tactics to prop up positive reviews over the years"? I'm an employee and we have very strict policies around review fairness. If anything, most review-related complaints come from hosts who want to have negative reviews removed due to perceived unfairness. By policy, negative reviews are rarely if ever removed this way much to the chagrin of hosts. Reviews are usually ranked chronologically…
I stayed in an AirBnB in Houston in the summer with broken AC. I left before the first night and was not refunded a cent. My review is buried on the page. It wasn't on top when I wrote it, and the stars weren't displayed, just the text. I deleted my AirBnB account.
> I deleted my AirBnB account.
How? I'm trying to delete my Airbnb account since months (as part of my regular declouding routine).
First, to my surprise, it was only 'deactivated', despite a wording that suggested otherwise, as far as I remember. Then I followed a tutorial on the Internet that said that I need to contact support through a somewhat hidden web form to actually delete my account. .. but to access this form I need to be logged in, which was impossible for me after my account deactivation.
To reactivate my account I need to talk to support, but, surprise, that's not accessible without being logged in.
In the beginning of July I wrote to the email they link in their site imprint. Two weeks later someone told my that my request was forwarded to someone else who will contact me soon. ... and that's the last thing I got.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#97Why does Airbnb have no competitors? The site itself is not a huge value add. Their search is not fantastic. Uber has Lyft, Airbnb has ... vrbo??? no major competitors?
Booking.com has been expanding into home rental quite a bit
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
They had a thriving business model before it, and there won’t be fewer WFH people after Covid
Thriving business model while the slow cooker of regulations don't catch up to them. There are reports of some touristic cities starting to cap Airbnb rentals, or just outright outlawing them. It's for good measure, Airbnbs in Barcelona, Lisboa and a number of other European cities have priced out the local population, investors buying 4-10 apartments on the same house to rent out as short-term rentals. Airbnb create…
> Airbnbs in Barcelona, Lisboa
Lots of places in Lisbon list their AL number, indicating they are registered places for renting out.
Locals have been priced out of Lisbon for a long time, but seems like restricting airbnbs has not limited it too much.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of the last $5,000 I’ve spent on AirBnB, not a single dollar was spent on a legal host.
Uber and AirBnB have revealed that the Western World is far more lawless than we had imagined. Who knew you could just 'start running cabs'. Even city hall says 'no' ... they just keep going. It's really bizarre. Irrespective of whether or now we should allow AirBnB and Uber it's crazy that civic institutions seem to have no control. If I was mayor and we decided 'no' on Uber I would be fining Uber millions and indiv…
> Uber and AirBnB have revealed that the Western World is far more lawless than we had imagined.
I think we discovered that around 2000 with Napster, Kazaa, etc.
Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August
#100I have to weigh in.
Spent on 8 Airbnb rental trips. All ok. Then one crazy host without feedback left a false review claiming property damage in a room I never used and that I “used escorts” when I stayed with my family. I had no time to reply and was unable on multiple appeals to get the false review removed from Airbnb.
To this day I’m not sure what was in her mind but I think she got into trouble with her neighbour for hosting on Airbnb and then lied on my feedback out of malice/being emotionally disturbed.
The problem wasn’t this odd event - the problem is a completely stopped using Airbnb because this one false reviewed ruined my reputation even though it had been perfect until then.
Airbnb being unable to handle lies / fabrications even from hosts with next to no feedback compared to a reputable guest - me - result in a broken system.
Really disappointed this was never resolved. It could happen to you when you least expect it - be warned.