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Airbnb S-1

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Re: Airbnb S-1

#61

Post by lotophage »

johnfn wrote: post #55
seattle_spring wrote: post #10

Excited to learn more about the specifics. Really hoping people don't flood this thread with their anecdotal bad Airbnb experiences ("I paid below market rate this one time 6 years ago and got a crappy host, therefore this company is going to fail!"), which seems to happen every-time someone mentions their name.

Got punched in the face outside of an Airbnb once and left immediately. Host charged me for damages including blood on the towel because I got punched. Airbnb sided with the host.

Was it the host's fault that you got punched?

Re: Airbnb S-1

#62

Post by Cyclone_ »

paxys wrote: post #58
Cyclone_ wrote: post #56

I switched from hosting with Airbnb over to a property management company when I'm out of town. Airbnb continues to refuse to take security seriously and won't fulfill their host guarantee in the event that a guest causes thousands of dollars in damages. They should be an easy company to beat for long term rentals since they're so poorly run in many ways. I don't think they have any serious competition for very short…

Are they even interested in the long term rental space?

Yes someone tried to book a long term rental with me recently and I said I wouldn't take it on Airbnb since they've screwed me over in the past. I realize people here don't like others being critical of quality of tech companies but it's just the reality many have experienced

Re: Airbnb S-1

#63

Post by data_spy »

wholien wrote: post #12

huh > Most of our guests discover Airbnb organically, with approximately 91% of all traffic to Airbnb coming through direct or unpaid channels during the nine months ended September 30, 2020. Anyone know what % of traffic to Bookings and Expedia (and others) are paid vs unpaid? 91% unpaid seems really high, and I wonder if it's because Airbnb is so differentiated / people want to "Airbnb" a place (vs. "stay somewhere…

89% for Expedia, assuming you count search + direct. Airbnb is at 88% for the same breakdown according to Similarweb. However SimilarWeb has direct for Airbnb at 61.47% versus Expedia's 37.72%

Re: Airbnb S-1

#64

Post by zucked »

seattle_spring wrote: post #10

Excited to learn more about the specifics. Really hoping people don't flood this thread with their anecdotal bad Airbnb experiences ("I paid below market rate this one time 6 years ago and got a crappy host, therefore this company is going to fail!"), which seems to happen every-time someone mentions their name.

The experiences that people report often indicate systemic issues within the platform/product, especially when they are as pervasive as some on the AirBnB platform are.* I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them.

* I've had two shit hosts that left me up a creek scrambling to find housing, as has my S/O. As a consumer, I am way less likely to use the platform now because my experience has shown me that AirBnB either doesn't care or doesn't have an effective lever to pull to improve this situation.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#65

Post by kibibyte »

maltelandwehr wrote: post #38
callmeed wrote: post #33

I heard a podcast discuss the possibility of AirBnB offering shares or options to superhosts (like me) ahead of the IPO–essentially as a "thank you" to the people who helped build the marketplace. Anyone have thoughts on if that is possible or plausible?

Not plausible. Just wishful thinking. How would that even work if superhosts are not accredited investors?

Square did this for some of their merchants through Loyal3 (which appears to be dead now), so it’s plausible.

Disclosure: am employee

Re: Airbnb S-1

#67

Post by _2d30 »

epa wrote: post #2

http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html

Wow, PG is pushy in such a way that really shows his dedication to the team. Really interesting to see.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#68

Post by EdJiang »

callmeed wrote: post #44
maltelandwehr wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not plausible. Just wishful thinking. How would that even work if superhosts are not accredited investors?

Employees that get and exercise stock options are not accredited investors either. Couldn't they take a similar route? I admit, I ask mostly selfishly (my wife and I are superhosts, we have managed a full-time AirBnB in CA for 2 years). But it's also an interesting thought experiment. It would be quite the contrast to how the rideshare and food delivery companies treat their non-employees.

Uber and Lyft did give long-term drivers “appreciation awards” which they could use to buy stock in the IPO. So not unprecedented.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/11/uber-is-dishing-out-apprec...

Re: Airbnb S-1

#70

Post by darkwizard42 »

Wow, the financials are a little bit surprising (in how bad they seem to be, but in actuality might be okay)

Amazing growth and story up to 2018 (only $20M loss on $3.5B rev), clear investment in the marketing side that leads to the 2019 loss, but now curious if they can rebound when the world opens up.

Investing in Airbnb is definitely a bet on their model righting itself in a reasonable time frame. I wonder if their IPO price will have to reflect current realities instead of just future potential (given it probably won't improve its profitability for 2 years now)

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