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Airbnb S-1

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Re: Airbnb S-1

#371

Post by chrisseaton »

garmaine wrote: post #357
chrisseaton wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US does do this. I’m always asked where I’m staying when I cross into the US. I have to write it on my landing card and they ask me about it at the border. And this is someone who doesn’t need a visa, even.

that’s something different. Every country asks where you will be staying on their immigration entry forms. This thread is about local police, no immigration and customs agencies. In Germany, it is required that when you move to a new apartment you walk into the nearest police station or town hall within a few days and fill out a form telling them your new address, who you live with, what their religious affiliations…

> This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least.

I'm sure it all goes into the same database.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#372

Post by twic »

chrisseaton wrote: post #352
garmaine wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 f…

America is even more extreme - there the state asks you for your political affiliation in many cases. That’s absolutely crazy to me.

This is somehow connected to the fact that US political parties are mostly not mass membership organisations.

Everywhere else in the world, if you strongly support a party, you join it, and pay a membership fee, and the party adds you to a register. Then, you can take part in party activities, like internal elections.

In the US, you register as a supporter of a particular party with the state. Then, everyone registered can take part in (some) party activities, like primaries.

It's a weird system, and i don't know how it started, but because Americans don't realise it's weird, there isn't much written about it!

Re: Airbnb S-1

#373

Post by jariel »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #269
jariel wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"How does anyone find a regular hotel these days? That's why you need a website to coordinate" ? So your point is only AirBnB 'can make a website' ? If regulations were lax before AirBnB existed there'd be 1000 different sites you could list upon and hoteliers of all kinds would charge less. Or at least many would. Because AirBnb was the progenitor of the lease-your-room modality they captured the market and have a l…

> Just like there are a myriad ways to 'book a hotel room' - there'd be a myriad was to book your '6 room place'. I doubt that. I'm not sure I can justify my doubt, but I doubt it. Also, the "myriad ways to book a hotel room" works only because more or less every hotel is on more or less every such way of doing it.

There are a myriad of ways to book hotels right now.

There's no reason, that with more open regulatory scnearios, there wouldn't be a myriad ways to 'book your 6 room flat'.

Or rather, you could have the option to list with a few.

AirBnB 'broke through' into a market that didn't quite exist, partly because it's literally illegal in most places. Very few landlords allow subleasing rooms as well.

Both AirBnB and Uber created a market in a 'regulatory grey area' so they kind of developed a marketplace monopoly.

If that gray area did not exist previously, AirBnB and Uber would not have had the power to break through and dominate.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#374

Post by wombatmobile »

wombatmobile wrote: post #265
fakedang wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why don't you just cancel the reservation? I've had a bunch of places cancel up on me like that.

I suppose I have to do that, thanks. I was trying to actually solve the problem by identifying the bug and having it rectified. But I'm in the wrong industry for that now, aren't I? D'oh!

I couldn't help myself because I'm sure it's a bug and I can't stand to let a bug go so I persisted with technical support. One guy got it and traced through what happened. He's escalated it to the subject specialist.

It's an important bug. The "Smart Pricing" is broken, or at least in 3 cases of mine it was, and the documentation in the guides for Hosts is discordant.

Airbnb S-1 Page 191

> Serving Our Stakeholders

> Pricing. While hosts set their own prices, we provide hosts with Smart Pricing tools that suggest prices for their listings based on changes in demand for similar listings. Our Smart Pricing recommendations are based on the type and location of a listing, the season, expected demand, and other factors. In addition, we provide data insights that include how host occupancy rates compare to other listings on our platform.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#375

Post by littlecranky67 »

garmaine wrote: post #347
mcntsh wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 f…

Race and religion are definitely not required (=optional for you to give) when you register for permanent residency in Germany. Source: I am a german who completed the form multiple times after moving.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#376

Post by dustinmoris »

Personally I think AirBnb had its time.

To me AirBnb is like a hotel, except:

- No gym, sauna and other SPA facilities included

- No breakfast buffet, restaurants or room service available

- No room upgrades available

- No early check in/late check out available

- No 24/7 access available

- No reception desk 24/7 available where I can ask for good recommendations, learn a bit more about the place without feeling awkward to ask or risk being sucked into a long unnecessary conversation

- No easy way to voice complaints or raise concerns if something goes wrong

- No extra facilities such as laundry, flower service, etc.

- No other guests which I can meet in the lobby, at the bar and so on to socialise

On the other hand I get this at AirBnbs:

- Having difficulties to access the property because hosts want to meet somewhere in a place which suits them but not me

- Sometimes waiting for the house/flat keys longer than expected

- Sometimes being told on arrival how some things "recently" broke and that they won't be available during my stay

- Awkward hellos and good byes

- Awkward random house rules

- Awkward access restrictions such as can't open this gate after X hour, and so on

- A lot of fake friendliness as long as you don't raise any concerns

- Difficulties to raise issues and getting refunds

- A lot more which I can't think of now, but left me with a really bad aftertaste every time

Re: Airbnb S-1

#377

Post by dahfizz »

dustinmoris wrote: post #376

Personally I think AirBnb had its time. To me AirBnb is like a hotel, except: - No gym, sauna and other SPA facilities included - No breakfast buffet, restaurants or room service available - No room upgrades available - No early check in/late check out available - No 24/7 access available - No reception desk 24/7 available where I can ask for good recommendations, learn a bit more about the place without feeling awkw…

Like most startups, I think Airbnb was mostly competing on price. But I was planning a weekend trip recently and it wasn't any more money to stay in a hotel. I don't see the apeal at all.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#378

Post by lucideer »

dustinmoris wrote: post #376

Personally I think AirBnb had its time. To me AirBnb is like a hotel, except: - No gym, sauna and other SPA facilities included - No breakfast buffet, restaurants or room service available - No room upgrades available - No early check in/late check out available - No 24/7 access available - No reception desk 24/7 available where I can ask for good recommendations, learn a bit more about the place without feeling awkw…

To come at this from the opposite perspective:

AirBnB's best-case "ideal" setup has always struck me as just "CouchSurfing[0] but monetised". While AirBnB has received a lot negative press for facilitating the letting of would-be residential property by large-scale professional landlords, the marketing from AirBnB's side has always favoured the "local guide, personal human experience" angle, an angle CouchSurfing has always tried to cover non-commercially.

So in my mind it's a comprehensively bankrupt proposition from either side of the spectrum. It's worse than a hotel (no service), worse than traditional self-catering tourist apartments (more expensive), worse than a long-term let (a LOT more expensive) and infinitely worse than the social, warm-fuzzy personal experience of CouchSurfing (free).

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing

Re: Airbnb S-1

#379

Post by Lucadg »

dustinmoris wrote: post #376

Personally I think AirBnb had its time. To me AirBnb is like a hotel, except: - No gym, sauna and other SPA facilities included - No breakfast buffet, restaurants or room service available - No room upgrades available - No early check in/late check out available - No 24/7 access available - No reception desk 24/7 available where I can ask for good recommendations, learn a bit more about the place without feeling awkw…

You are not talking about Airbnb here. You are saying a whole industry which existed well before hotels, before Airbnb and will exist after Airbnb is not a good fit for you.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#380

Post by Ekaros »

refurb wrote: post #348
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 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".

It's really useful information for things like mailing your tax returns, verifying which municipality should receive taxes and also affects you social security. Sending voting information. For police they need to know where to send court documents and so on.

In Finland it's not really handled by police, usually done with Posti. Other great thing is that it also updates your details to most places...

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