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Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

nytimes.com

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Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#71

Post by gorbypark »

WanderPanda wrote: post #48
FruityCoconut wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also you're unlikely to see the owner, they certainly won't be inside with you, you can leave any time, you're likely to be with others, and they can't change your location. Contrast that with an intoxicated young woman climbing alone into a stranger's car where he has a lot of control - including being able to lock the doors or take her to a remote/unfamiliar location. Even with all the checks and measures in place,…

> they certainly won't be inside with you Not true, we once stayed in Pisa, Italy, and the (absolutely messy) appartment was shared with the host and her son. It was quite awkward at times but we still enjoyed the stay

Many years back I stayed in Melbourne, Australia with a lovely Chinese speaking elderly couple. They made me lunch, I have no idea what it was but it was delicious! I think it was much more common to rent an extra room back when Airbnb was relatively new.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#72

Post by andy_ppp »

iandanforth wrote: post #60
andy_ppp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with Airbnb and hosts who are basically trying to rinse as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. I’m not sure after a long journey I want to wonder around the Edinburgh fringe again, trying to decipher Scottish, while the wind is going crazy and there are millions of people floating around just to get keys. I think Airbnb is great if there are 15 of you sharing…

Because I've had the opposite experience would you be willing to share how you pick places? I rent: "Whole places", with a strong bias towards detached buildings, that rate 4.7 or higher on their scale, and have glowing reviews that mention how nice the host is. These are almost always $90/night or more, with an average of $120/night.

I’m not sure, now that I can afford a nicer place I usually book a hotel due to my previous experience. Maybe I should increase my price ranges and try again, but the key problem just means I really cannot be bothered. If they had places around town to get the keys from I’d be much more likely to use it again.

Having said that places usually are over £90 per night but this is very place dependant.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#73

Post by patothon »

polote wrote: post #37
loufe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

60-100 staff? Sorry but that's very naïve. Think about how many core services this takes: -finance -payment -HR -management -verification of hosts / properties -scam detection and moderation -legal -dispute arbitration -programming -infrastructure -projects -building management for properties like HQ they own -customer service -etc. They'd be lucky to get away with a couple multiples of your guess. This isn't netflix…

> 60-100 staff? Sorry but that's very naïve. Think about how many core services this takes: I agree, but the engineering department could be handled with less than 50 people. Most of the work they do is linked to operation stuff and not engineering

the parent explained how it was impossible to get to that low of a number: -finance -payment -HR -management -verification of hosts / properties -scam detection and moderation -legal -dispute arbitration -programming -infrastructure -projects -building management for properties like HQ they own -customer service -etc.

This represent so many people.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#74

Post by VectorLock »

bjarneh wrote: post #20
grailed wrote: post #8

I hear a lot of talk surrounding their "moat" and many skeptics are questioning whether or not they will be able to maintain their competitive advantage. However, it feels like Airbnb has solved a truly hard problem: how to make people trust your service. People are using this app to go stay in random people's homes. How often do you hear people talk about being murdered in uber? I still hear it. How often do you hea…

> How often do you hear people talk about being murdered in uber? I still hear it. How often do you hear it for Airbnb? I haven't heard someone express that worry yet. Only in the US: They've solved one of the hardest problems, not being murdered while using their service....

>How often do you hear it for Airbnb?

I've heard a lot of potential hosts not do airbnb for worry of things like guests having massive parties, making drugs, destroying things, etc.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#75

Post by tomhoward »

zwieback wrote: post #3

and I thought they were struggling because everyone is staying home due to Covid...

But also due to covid, many people have relocated to temporary accommodation out of the cities - booking through Airbnb. I heard somewhere they saw record bookings in one of the past few months.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#76

Post by richthegeek »

bjarneh wrote: post #20
grailed wrote: post #8

I hear a lot of talk surrounding their "moat" and many skeptics are questioning whether or not they will be able to maintain their competitive advantage. However, it feels like Airbnb has solved a truly hard problem: how to make people trust your service. People are using this app to go stay in random people's homes. How often do you hear people talk about being murdered in uber? I still hear it. How often do you hea…

> How often do you hear people talk about being murdered in uber? I still hear it. How often do you hear it for Airbnb? I haven't heard someone express that worry yet. Only in the US: They've solved one of the hardest problems, not being murdered while using their service....

British person here: I get where you're coming from, sorta, but it's a pretty bad take...

Uber has had their license revoked and returned repeatedly in London for the last few years because they have such a terrible reputation for consumer safety - instances of girls being assaulted by drivers, and insufficient protection by Uber after that.

Sure, not murder, but still pretty bad.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#77

Post by ghaff »

andy_ppp wrote: post #72
iandanforth wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I've had the opposite experience would you be willing to share how you pick places? I rent: "Whole places", with a strong bias towards detached buildings, that rate 4.7 or higher on their scale, and have glowing reviews that mention how nice the host is. These are almost always $90/night or more, with an average of $120/night.

I’m not sure, now that I can afford a nicer place I usually book a hotel due to my previous experience. Maybe I should increase my price ranges and try again, but the key problem just means I really cannot be bothered. If they had places around town to get the keys from I’d be much more likely to use it again. Having said that places usually are over £90 per night but this is very place dependant.

Most of the time when I travel, it's the city etc. that's the experience I'm looking for, not the accommodation. I have no doubt there are, even many, AirBnBs out there that are quite nice. But I'll usually go for predictability, as well as other amenities, like being able to leave my luggage for the day after I check out.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#78

Post by whimsicalism »

gorbypark wrote: post #71
WanderPanda wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they certainly won't be inside with you Not true, we once stayed in Pisa, Italy, and the (absolutely messy) appartment was shared with the host and her son. It was quite awkward at times but we still enjoyed the stay

Many years back I stayed in Melbourne, Australia with a lovely Chinese speaking elderly couple. They made me lunch, I have no idea what it was but it was delicious! I think it was much more common to rent an extra room back when Airbnb was relatively new.

Still very common. My parents are AirBnB "super hosts" and they live in the basement due to regulatory requirements that are common in pricey American cities.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#79

Post by whimsicalism »

ghaff wrote: post #77
andy_ppp wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure, now that I can afford a nicer place I usually book a hotel due to my previous experience. Maybe I should increase my price ranges and try again, but the key problem just means I really cannot be bothered. If they had places around town to get the keys from I’d be much more likely to use it again. Having said that places usually are over £90 per night but this is very place dependant.

Most of the time when I travel, it's the city etc. that's the experience I'm looking for, not the accommodation. I have no doubt there are, even many, AirBnBs out there that are quite nice. But I'll usually go for predictability, as well as other amenities, like being able to leave my luggage for the day after I check out.

I find I get a much more real sense of the city living in one of its (non-hotel zoned) neighborhoods in a real house.

Re: Airbnb’s Stunning IPO

#80

Post by bob33212 »

jeffbee wrote: post #46
zwieback wrote: post #3

and I thought they were struggling because everyone is staying home due to Covid...

They are struggling. They IPO not due to the health of their business, but because so many dupes are putting their dumb money on the table these days.

I assume most investors are smarter than that and are hoping AirBnB will build a monopoly similar to how google did with search and Wikipedia did with online encyclopedias.

A 5% monopoly tax on most rentals/hotels does give you a huge profit eventually.

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