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Airbnb S-1

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Re: Airbnb S-1

#341

Post by throwaway4good »

carlineng wrote: post #112

A few random observations I found interesting: - Looks like they are significantly leaner now as a result of COVID. Cost of revenue is at an all-time low in Q3 (17% of revenue on p164). There's a lot of focus the drastic cuts to Sales and Marketing, but it looks like there's a fair amount of increased discipline across the board. - It's interesting that Operations and support looks to be very similar in both the firs…

There are plenty of US tech companies that have success in China.

For example I often use Agoda or hotels.com when I travel in China.

I think AirBnB will have plenty of competition in China and broader Asia from well-established players such as CTrip, Agoda or Rakuten.

The "social network" (rating your visitors etc.) aspect of AirBnB I think will matter less in those parts of the world ... but maybe I am wrong and things will change.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#342

Post by gnrlst »

Seems like they have an upcoming bigger than expected tax bill...

> In September 2020, we received a Draft Notice of Proposed Adjustment from the IRS for the 2013 tax year proposing an increase to our U.S. taxable income that could result in additional income tax expense and cash tax liability of $1.35 billion, plus penalties and interest, which exceeds our current reserve recorded in our consolidated financial statements by more than $1.0 billion.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#343

Post by mrkwse »

throwaway4good wrote: post #341
carlineng wrote: post #112

A few random observations I found interesting: - Looks like they are significantly leaner now as a result of COVID. Cost of revenue is at an all-time low in Q3 (17% of revenue on p164). There's a lot of focus the drastic cuts to Sales and Marketing, but it looks like there's a fair amount of increased discipline across the board. - It's interesting that Operations and support looks to be very similar in both the firs…

There are plenty of US tech companies that have success in China. For example I often use Agoda or hotels.com when I travel in China. I think AirBnB will have plenty of competition in China and broader Asia from well-established players such as CTrip, Agoda or Rakuten. The "social network" (rating your visitors etc.) aspect of AirBnB I think will matter less in those parts of the world ... but maybe I am wrong and th…

The usage you're describing doesn't equate to success in China, you're still a customer outside of China even if they're working with businesses in China.

I'm not saying the two services you referenced do or do not do well with the Chinese market, but it's a different proposition to actually capture a massive distinct market vs expansive options for the existing customer base.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#344

Post by virgilp »

elamje wrote: post #136
carlineng wrote: post #112

A few random observations I found interesting: - Looks like they are significantly leaner now as a result of COVID. Cost of revenue is at an all-time low in Q3 (17% of revenue on p164). There's a lot of focus the drastic cuts to Sales and Marketing, but it looks like there's a fair amount of increased discipline across the board. - It's interesting that Operations and support looks to be very similar in both the firs…

A fun anecdote about AirBnB in China: 2 years ago I travelled to Beijing and Shanghai and intended to stay in an AirBnB. AirBnB had tons and tons of listings in both places, all of which had specific instructions to tell the neighbors you were “a friend” and not staying there with AirBnB. At the time, and possibly still so, AirBnB was not operating legally in those particular places, and I presume most of the country…

> it’s such a good booking platform

Is it? I always hated it. I'd be very curious to learn what makes it feel like a good booking platform. It doesn't even show you where the room is located! (only approximate location). Seems way worse than e.g. booking.com, the only reason really to use them might be lower prices... if they still have an advantage here, which I'm genuinely not sure anymore (a while ago I decided I don't want to deal with their crap regardless of how much money I might save).

[edit] "Is it?" was not a rhetorical question. I'm not upset or anything if you downvote, but can you also add what do you feel makes it a good platform? Or what did I say that was wrong?

Re: Airbnb S-1

#345

Post by throwaway4good »

mrkwse wrote: post #343
throwaway4good wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of US tech companies that have success in China. For example I often use Agoda or hotels.com when I travel in China. I think AirBnB will have plenty of competition in China and broader Asia from well-established players such as CTrip, Agoda or Rakuten. The "social network" (rating your visitors etc.) aspect of AirBnB I think will matter less in those parts of the world ... but maybe I am wrong and th…

The usage you're describing doesn't equate to success in China, you're still a customer outside of China even if they're working with businesses in China. I'm not saying the two services you referenced do or do not do well with the Chinese market, but it's a different proposition to actually capture a massive distinct market vs expansive options for the existing customer base.

I don't have the numbers but my impression is that in particular Agoda is very popular.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#346

Post by mcntsh »

shafyy wrote: post #316
garmaine wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American it is so weird that a country would require you to register with the police at all, no matter your length of stay.

As an European, it seems weird that in the US you don't need to register your address at all, leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process.

As an American who now lives in Germany, it does make me think how the U.S works at all without this "registration". There are times where you fill out government forms with your address, but there's no way to know for sure where someone is living at any given moment. As far as the "government" is concerned (which government? state, local, federal? AFAIK it's all pretty decentralised) I'm still living at the place I registered to vote from years ago.

I suppose it's cultural differences. There's a staunchly individualistic attitude in the US and the idea of a central government tracking its citizens is very unpopular. I get it, too. If you take a look at the "Anmeldung" process in Germany, where the government has a list of everyone and their race/religion/nationality, along with exactly where they live/which building/which floor/which side of the building, you can see how such a system could be dangerous if Germany were to ever shift from the liberal democracy it is today.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#347

Post by garmaine »

mcntsh wrote: post #346
shafyy wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an European, it seems weird that in the US you don't need to register your address at all, leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process.

As an American who now lives in Germany, it does make me think how the U.S works at all without this "registration". There are times where you fill out government forms with your address, but there's no way to know for sure where someone is living at any given moment. As far as the "government" is concerned (which government? state, local, federal? AFAIK it's all pretty decentralised) I'm still living at the place I…

Heck, I remember it getting drilled into me in middle school that the Nazis were able to kill so many Jewish people because they had complete records of where everyone lived and their religious affiliation. When the time came, they knew what doors to knock on. It boggles my mind that this system still exists in modern Germany, of all places.

The American model is highly distributed and need-to-know. Many government forms ask for your current address, but it is not automatically shared with the police and there is no requirement to update it in a timely manner.

Many Americans are highly skeptical of the police, and for good reason. Expecting people to go to the police to register when moving would be a complete non-starter in most neighborhoods that I have lived.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#348

Post by refurb »

garmaine wrote: post #302
hehetrthrthrjn wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, only if you're planning on living in the Netherlands for 3 months or more.

As an American it is so weird that a country would require you to register with the police at all, no matter your length of stay.

As a Canadian, I concur. I've lived in other countries with a pretty strict registration requirement and it always felt odd. I was always thinking "why do the police need to know where I live? I haven't done anything wrong".

Re: Airbnb S-1

#349

Post by ximeng »

Accacin wrote: post #322
busterarm wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems incredibly dangerous as visitors on a tourist visa are required to register themselves with the local police within 24 hours of arriving at their destination. Trying to stay under the radar seems like it courts risk of deportation, as I've known _lots_ of folks who got a visit from police at their place of stay who were not aware of this. Virtually all of them settled things fine but it was more headache t…

So my wife is Chinese and from Shantou, a pretty big city in the South. First time I went, of course we stay at her parents house and I tell them that it's required we get registered at the police station. Her uncle, my wife, and I went to four police stations. All refused to register my stay and told me to go the next place. The final one told me that they require to see our marriage certificate (which we didn't hav…

They have a copy of the registrations for previous stays in a centralised computer system used at the border. They don’t necessarily flag up a lack of registration but they do keep the information and nothing to stop them raising it up as an issue in future.

You also don’t need to be married to stay in a private home.

Fine up to 2,000 RMB, more info:

https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/ShowTopic-g294211-i642-k123478...

Re: Airbnb S-1

#350

Post by garmaine »

shafyy wrote: post #316
garmaine wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American it is so weird that a country would require you to register with the police at all, no matter your length of stay.

As an European, it seems weird that in the US you don't need to register your address at all, leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process.

> leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process

What are you referring to? We have a every-ten-year census mandate built into our constitution. It’s been an ongoing thing since the 18th century.

The census results are mostly kept private and anonymized, with only aggregate data being shared.

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