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Airbnb S-1

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Re: Airbnb S-1

#401

Post by rossdavidh »

twblalock wrote: post #288
rossdavidh wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Widespread supposition is that AirBnB does better than hotels lately because: 1) when people do travel, they'd rather be at a single apartment or cabin than a many-person hotel (not saying that's well-founded, just that it's a widespread opinion) 2) some people who are now remote working decided that if they couldn't do anything in this city, they would live elsewhere for a little while. I have, however, no hard data…

It's the same reason home sales are strong right now -- when you spend almost all your time at home, space is nice to have, especially for people with children. Not sharing walls with neighbors is also nice. I'd bet that an AirBnb is normally a bit cheaper than a hotel suite with multiple rooms and a real kitchen.

Good point; I personally know people who were very zealous self-isolators, who bought and moved into a new house. It doesn't make much sense to me epidemologically (I'm pretty sure they used movers), but it makes sense psychologically as a way to change the scenery.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#402

Post by [deleted] »

dustingetz wrote: post #391
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…

airbnb made 8am meetings in NYC possible for me as someone living in Philly

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb S-1

#403

Post by dustinmoris »

everythingswan wrote: post #396
dustinmoris wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was speaking specifically of AirBnb because a clean, good reviewed room in a central location in any city comes almost at the same cost as a hotel room minus all the other things. Here is the thing, my wife and I did an around the world trip for an entire year and we did not stay once at an AirBnb. I checked AirBnb in every new country and every time it lost against a hotel or a hostel. Most AirBnbs were priced at…

It sounds like you hired it for specific reasons, finding a low cost option quickly or treating yourself to _all the things_, and I don't think AirBnB tries to do those things well. Try hiring hotels or hostels for large gatherings: bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, family vacations, etc. and I think it will be easier to see the difference. They compete more with vacation rentals, which seems old-fashioned sin…

> Try hiring hotels or hostels for large gatherings: bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, family vacations, etc. and I think it will be easier to see the difference. They compete more with vacation rentals, which seems old-fashioned since their online inventory always sucks.

I agree with you that AirBnb fits much better into that category. Having said that, I also frequently rent an entire chalet with friends for skiing and even then we use websites which cater specifically for those types of accommodation (especially in France there are so many good websites to book chalets) that the offerings on those websites exceed AirBnb again in every possible aspect.

Besides that, I don't think that investors have valued AirBnb at the current levels with the idea that AirBnb only caters to bachelorette parties and a few odd student gatherings. That market is not nearly as big as AirBnb is currently going for.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#404

Post by klik99 »

mcntsh wrote: post #339
klik99 wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to say that was strange as I've stayed in Nanjing and my wifes small town (of several million people) outside of Nanjing and didn't get denied, but then realized that you didn't have the marriage certificate with you. I do believe that's required everywhere. For native Chinese it's becoming easier to visit other places because the registration system is becoming more digital. That unfortunately has the si…

This is kind of off topic of AirBnB but can you share a little bit more about the registration system in China? By the way you describe it, it sounds like not only foreigners must register with the police when they visit other cities.

No, only foreign nationals must register when visiting places. Chinese citizens only must register at the police station when moving - though as if often the case, many people ignore such rules. I just meant that the state is tracking where people visit thanks to digital means - facial recognition and cell records. But foreigners can't really skirt those rules, both because they aren't as easily tracked and because they stand out.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#405

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

smueller1234 wrote: post #326
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bookings and Expedia are way, way, way lower than that. Expedia has been complaining a lot in recent years how Google has been taking away a lot of their search traffic with in-results-page hotel listings. At one point in the past I heard Booking was the largest spender, worldwide, on Adwords.

That's correct, Booking was the largest Adwords spender. I worked on their adwords integration then. Good fun. I wouldn't immediately consider the hotel metasearch products a problem for booking. It shifts traffic to different paid channels with different tradeoffs (eg. less fine grained control of spend if it's a revshare model). I ran the product development in marketing for a little while. Some years ago (ie. late…

> I wouldn't immediately consider the hotel metasearch products a problem for booking.

Seems like Booking and Expedia disagree with you:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/some-of-the-biggest-tech-n...

Re: Airbnb S-1

#406

Post by digianarchist »

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…

The house rules of some Air BnBs are ridiculous. Things that wouldn't be an issue at a hotel can get you booted out of an Air BnB like bringing 2 people up to your room.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#407

Post by darkport »

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…

Completey agree. I thought AirBnB was great back in the day but these days I only find it 'useful' (read: cheaper) when sharing a large property with friends. 99% of the time a 4*+ hotel cost is similar if not £20 - £40 more overall which I would be willing to pay because of your list above.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#408

Post by Technically »

hantusk wrote: post #392
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…

Wow, totally opposite my view. As a family we always want to stay somewhere with a kitchen and a private lounge area - hotel suites are cost prohibitive to this, and a lot less charming. When finding chalets or cabins/lodges for outdoor trips, Airbnbs are often much better located. To me it is not so much hotels they need to replace, but a streamlining of booking vacation houses to the point where it is almost as con…

Well of course AirBnb is "better placed"; they're ignoring local zoning. It's probably an indication airbnb has a negative impact on the places you're visiting.

Re: Airbnb S-1

#409

Post by rcpt »

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…

Don't forget wealthy boomer homeowners shaming you in reviews with "not respectful guests" if you don't spot shine the place despite a $90 cleaning fee

Re: Airbnb S-1

#410

Post by alistairSH »

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…

I use Airbnb for most vacation travel. Always rent a whole house/flat. Try to use "Super Hosts" and check reviews. Have had success in the US, Scotland, Iceland, and Italy.

- Don't care about the gym.

- I'd rather cook my own food.

- Rent a nice place, upgrade not needed.

- I've never rented a place that had awkward check-in/out times.

- Not sure what you mean? If you rent the whole place, you can come and go as you please.

- Airbnb facilitates online chat with the owner.

- Never had a concern that needed raised.

- Rent a place with laundry

- I'd rather go to a local place than a hotel bar

- I only meet the host about 1/3 of the time and it's always been at the house. The other 2/3, the house has a key box or similar for access.

- Never happened to me

- Never happened to me

- Never happened to me

- Never run into weird rules

- Never run into this either

- Never run into this. Hosts have always been professional.

- Refunds through Airbnb have been easy (I have several this year)

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