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Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

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451–460 of 573 posts

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#451

It amazes me that companies like AirBnB get huge valuations and user bases when the fundamental feature of searching for listings is phenomenally atrocious. - Paginated results that reset and call an API for new results when the map is moved (even to a subset of the initial call such as in a zoom). - Inability to change pagination size. - Inability to hide listings you aren't interested in. - Map only displaying list…

Nobody is incentivized to fix those things, so they don't get fixed. Nobody ever got promoted for making small UI tweaks.

Much better to spend years on an expensive redesign that somehow makes the user experience worse. Now that's how you get ahead.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#452
post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very anecdotal to your city. VRBO could be renting more than Airbnb. I am not going to go to extreme's to overly analyze this. I made my point.

My point already shows that your whole assumption is flawed, which was entirely my point... You don't need to argue but it'd be in good faith to at least acknowledge that your point has no basis at all, it's just your feeling, not a point. By the way, I live in a capital city in Europe so the discrepancies between listings would probably translate to many other places...

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every hotel cares. The hotel I’m staying at right now is dirty as fuck. The valve for the shower does not operate properly, the water pressure is extremely low and it barely gets above 90F. Other rooms in the same hotel have a different valve and the showers work fine. “We will send a maintenance person right away” it’s been a week. There is old food under and behind my bed. They empty trash in the hall once a we…

Let me guess, New York City?

South Dakota.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every hotel cares. The hotel I’m staying at right now is dirty as fuck. The valve for the shower does not operate properly, the water pressure is extremely low and it barely gets above 90F. Other rooms in the same hotel have a different valve and the showers work fine. “We will send a maintenance person right away” it’s been a week. There is old food under and behind my bed. They empty trash in the hall once a we…

An unclean room would be an instant nope for me. Ask for a refund or file a chargeback.

I’m here because my dad had an aneurysm on vacation and idgaf

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#455
post #327

I used to be a big defender of AirBnB due to the many amazing experiences I've had with them over the years. But since then I've had several experiences that matched the negative feedback I had been hearing from other people, especially with US-based rentals, and now I'm a skeptic at best. The CEO knows exactly what the problem is because he spells it out in the article... > Chesky explains that historically, people…

> especially with US-based rentals, and now I'm a skeptic at best. I have been using AirBNB for years (top 5% guest at one point) with virtually no issues (that weren't quickly resolved by support) and I imagine my experiences are this way because I am almost never in the US. I would love to see a poll on how people rate AirBnB broken down by where they usually stay.

I agree, it's the US-based rentals that seem to all have become soulless, bare-minimum hovels as opposed to the lived-in homes of yesteryear.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And better. It was all around a better experience, analogous to Uber vs taxi. But while Uber is still more convenient than taxi, I haven't even considered using AirBnB in years.

agreeing (strongly) that uber is better than taxi, and yet again on price it is because uber skirts the law-- drivers typically do not have commercial insurance etc and also uber subsidized rides for a long time with VC money.

That does not seem to be true:

https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/insurance/?city=portland

>When you earn with a transportation network company (TNC), referred to here as ridesharing, most states require extra—and costly—insurance.

>Uber maintains this commercial insurance on your behalf. What’s covered depends on factors such as who was at fault; whether you were offline, online, en route, or on-trip; and your personal insurance policy. Learn more about the commercial insurance coverage Uber maintains on your behalf below.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. OP is weird. Google tells me: > Airbnb prohibits indoor security cameras and recording devices, including audio, in most listings globally. It should not be difficult to find a security camera. (Microphone is a different matter.) If you find one, you can report to AirBnB, and I am sure the renter will be immediately delisted. And, it is probably just plan illegal in many jurisdictions.

> And, it is probably just plan illegal in many jurisdictions. Yes because of course nobody would ever do anything illegal.

This is not a useful response. The intent of my comment was to say: If you are renting an AirBnB and you find "hidden" cameras, then you can first complain to AirBnB. If the local jurisdiction prohits cameras, then you can call the police to report it.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#458
post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe certainly, it’s very expensive to get anything close to what you’re describing in a hotel. Just having a separate living room and bedroom in your hotel can be hundreds more per night. Interconnecting rooms are rare, you can request it, and it’ll be subject to availability. So you can’t even guarantee you’ll have one.

This is the same everywhere I have been in the US.

Have you been anywhere besides NYC and Vegas?

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the people who say hotels are better than AirBnb aren't traveling with kids. Having an actual kitchen when you travel with kids is great. Having actual separate bedrooms so we don't have to go to sleep at 8pm when the kids go to sleep is great. Being able to do laundry without tracking down a laundromat or pay exorbitant hotel prices is great. Having a living room or similar area with at least a few square me…

There are plenty of hotels where you can get multiple rooms and a washing machine. When traveling with kids, one big advantage of hotels is predictability. The last thing I want to do when I'm pulling in after a long flight an hour past the kids' bedtime is to deal with potentially dealbreaking problems with the place. In a hotel, they generally have maintenance on staff and extra rooms to switch into in case of prob…

In North America, across hundreds of hotel stays, I have seen exactly zero ensuite washing machines. For extended stays, being able to kick off your laundry and leave for the day is absolutely priceless. Having to set timers and babysit coin-operated laundry on a different floor just isn't worth it, to the point where I'd rather just pay $$$ for hotel laundry service over using their communal laundry room.

Re: Airbnb is in midlife crisis mode

#460
post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and worrying for days afterwards about the effects of smoke, mold, dust etc on their health. I mean, that one is on you. It is possible to go on vacation even camping with kids without having anxiety attack over everything. Also, while some kids are difficult and kids are slow and certainly limit you, hours of tantrumps every holiday and impossibility to eat are not normal.

The air usually seems pretty fresh and healthy when camping.

What about the carpets?
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