Can't users already grep these type of homes by using price and rating filters? So the premium is based on a "verified" distinction due to an official inspection? I guess that's useful but it may make these kinds of gems harder to book (and more expensive) if they are easier to distinguish.
Introducing Airbnb Plus
11–20 of 174 posts
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#12This offering looks nice, but half the bullet items listed as benefits were things that I already thought were guaranteed by AirBnB... This seems like an excuse to lower their standards on non-Plus listings.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#13Why do they never link to the listings when they advertise these beautiful homes? It's such a simple thing to do, I wonder if they purposefully leave the links out. I'm curious how much that LA home is to rent.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#14Interesting. I wonder what those "checked for 100+ things that guests told us they love" are.
Shouldn't the general quality of the listing already be apparent from the ratings?
I'm always looking for apartments with a view. That is why I am starting a startup that will help locate these:
https://nothingless.github.io/
I will also list if an apartment has a table. Because I need one to work with my laptop on it.
What are other HNers looking for in an apartment that is not easy to find via the standard filters?
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#15Airbnb is trying to make more money by offering experiences (events that generally seem very expensive to me) and moving to a more high-end branding. If I open the website I mostly see the more exclusive places first. I think this opens opportunities at the bottom. A website that focusses on functionality and cheaper rooms. The public is now familiar with the concept. Some people do not want to pay above hotel prices…
i don't see how a whole new company can exist to fill in the gap of what airbnb's price slider filter can fix in 2 seconds
There's always room for improvement. You could have said the same about craiglists -- what's the need of airbnb, craigslist/couchsurf.com etc. already exists.
I think grandparent post has a good point, I'm also one of the people looking for something cheaper, and most airbnb's are often out of my price range.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#16AirBnb sells feelings of authenticity, but it comes across in an uncanny-valley sort of way. I did an AirBnB cooking class experience in the suburbs of Mexico City. It was really fun, I got to meet a few great people, and it was in a lovely house. But how genuine are the host's laughs at my jokes when I'm paying him for the class? It doesn't feel real.
Staying at an AirBnB is a less homogenous than staying at the Hilton. There's a bit more risk involved (not necessarily safety, but cleanliness, noise, etc). Hotels, on the plus side, are run like businesses and feel more impersonal. It's more honest than an AirBnB experience in a way.
More to the point, I'm surprised the company keeps improving their product like this. It's not Dropbox or Yelp, which don't feel too different after 10 years.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#17Airbnb is trying to make more money by offering experiences (events that generally seem very expensive to me) and moving to a more high-end branding. If I open the website I mostly see the more exclusive places first. I think this opens opportunities at the bottom. A website that focusses on functionality and cheaper rooms. The public is now familiar with the concept. Some people do not want to pay above hotel prices…
i don't see how a whole new company can exist to fill in the gap of what airbnb's price slider filter can fix in 2 seconds
It’s not enough to have a slider, you also need to actively market to people looking for cheap places to stay in the first place, or they will never even think to use your precious slider.
This splits AirBnBs marketing on two fronts: high end and low end. This either doubles their marketing cost or halves their marketing budget for each audience. Take your pick.
A company focused on low cost listings only has to market to one audience, which results in significantly cheaper marketing cost, which means better profitability, which means longer staying power, which means eventually they own a large percentage of the low end market.
Game Over.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#18Airbnb is trying to make more money by offering experiences (events that generally seem very expensive to me) and moving to a more high-end branding. If I open the website I mostly see the more exclusive places first. I think this opens opportunities at the bottom. A website that focusses on functionality and cheaper rooms. The public is now familiar with the concept. Some people do not want to pay above hotel prices…
I would say there's very little motivation for hosts to have cheaper rooms. These services make a bad reviews so high cost to the host that everyone just tries to make it 5 stars.
That and in the in the bottom there's always normal long term house renting for very little effort.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#19This offering looks nice, but half the bullet items listed as benefits were things that I already thought were guaranteed by AirBnB... This seems like an excuse to lower their standards on non-Plus listings.
Agreed, don’t know why we should suddenly pay more for something we once expected for free.
Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
i don't see how a whole new company can exist to fill in the gap of what airbnb's price slider filter can fix in 2 seconds
It’s not enough to have a slider, you also need to actively market to people looking for cheap places to stay in the first place, or they will never even think to use your precious slider. This splits AirBnBs marketing on two fronts: high end and low end. This either doubles their marketing cost or halves their marketing budget for each audience. Take your pick. A company focused on low cost listings only has to mark…
valid points for sure