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Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

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Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#131

Post by romanhn »

timwaagh wrote: post #102
romanhn wrote: post #76

I recently had the occasion to stay with 4 different Airbnb hosts over the span of under a month, my takeaway was that if I owned any Airbnb stock, I would've sold it immediately. The first two accommodations were huge let downs in terms of cleanliness, despite both advertising Enhanced Clean. The first trip was booked for a month, but we got sick of ants, mice and lack of action after about a week and left early. Th…

I'm sorry for your experience. I don't think people really deserve a right to review a place if they cancel immediately so i do agree with airbnb on this. Reviews are always a sad affair. recently had the first guest for a particular room who left a bad review. He was an old squatter so used to much better value for money and it (coincidentically) just happened that he checked out late because of an airbnb mistake so…

While both sides deserve to tell their story, Airbnb should be able to do a basic sanity check based on provided evidence. In our case we provided lots of photos that were clearly were not fraudulent (can be compared to those in the listing) and there was no response from the host, who lied about having cleaners earlier that day. We were met with disgusting sinks, toilets, bathtub, carpet, everything after a 7-hour drive. That's not ok during normal times, but lack of basic sanitization should be a huge red mark during a pandemic. Instead the host continues to do business as usual. So, strong disagree on not deserving to review places like this.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#132

Post by romanhn »

OnlyLys wrote: post #126
romanhn wrote: post #76

I recently had the occasion to stay with 4 different Airbnb hosts over the span of under a month, my takeaway was that if I owned any Airbnb stock, I would've sold it immediately. The first two accommodations were huge let downs in terms of cleanliness, despite both advertising Enhanced Clean. The first trip was booked for a month, but we got sick of ants, mice and lack of action after about a week and left early. Th…

While we're on this topic... Late last year I wrote a detail review of a place I stayed at that was poorly maintained. I made the review very detailed, even providing picture evidence of the dirty microwave and clogged air conditioners to prove that the place did not deserve all the 5-stars it was getting. After I posted it, I realised that no one will ever read it, because all the paragraphs I wrote were merged into…

Yep, I literally went through all same reactions, until I realized that these decisions were all intentional on Airbnb's part and served to inflate the ratings and reviews on the site. That's when the trust was lost.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#133

Post by romanhn »

sephamorr wrote: post #87
romanhn wrote: post #76

I recently had the occasion to stay with 4 different Airbnb hosts over the span of under a month, my takeaway was that if I owned any Airbnb stock, I would've sold it immediately. The first two accommodations were huge let downs in terms of cleanliness, despite both advertising Enhanced Clean. The first trip was booked for a month, but we got sick of ants, mice and lack of action after about a week and left early. Th…

The piece that always bothered my about Airbnb is how it incentivizes hosts to cheat in small (but not insignificant) ways. If my only recourse for not-as-described when I've arrived is to accept the keys, or abandon the booking, that's not a real choice. Most people in an unfamiliar place will just put up with the exaggerated "fully stocked" kitchen, false pictures, etc, and are left with no ability to claw anything…

Re: partial refunds - Airbnb was actually good here. In both instances they refunded the nights we didn't stay as well as 50% of the nights we did stay (that was unexpected). Oddly, the second host still attempted to extort us for the full amount through the Airbnb system after the fact, which just added to this bizarre experience.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#134

Post by Leherenn »

wdb wrote: post #115

The biggest mistake I made when moving to London was not to check out the neighbourhood on AirBNB. I was stuck in area which is popular for AirBNBs where multiple random people arrive nearly daily to stay at apartments in my building, and neighbouring ones. The amount of inconvenience AirBNB causes is huge, if you are living near a hotel it's obvious but these hidden hotels are just horrible. Sure, they a cost effect…

What happened after you reported them?

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#135

Post by jariel »

MattGaiser wrote: post #86
jariel wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber and AirBnB have revealed that the Western World is far more lawless than we had imagined. Who knew you could just 'start running cabs'. Even city hall says 'no' ... they just keep going. It's really bizarre. Irrespective of whether or now we should allow AirBnB and Uber it's crazy that civic institutions seem to have no control. If I was mayor and we decided 'no' on Uber I would be fining Uber millions and indiv…

I think it is just Western democracy at work. City Hall says 'no' and then they get a barrage of letters and emails demanding they don't hurt Uber or Airbnb as people love them. City Council doesn't want to have the deal with the fight, so they capitulate. > If I was mayor and we decided 'no' on Uber I would be fining Uber millions and individual drivers a lot and ask regular cabs and cops to be on the lookout. Are y…

" City Council doesn't want to have the deal with the fight, so they capitulate."

That is not what is happening.

What is happening is that they don't have the tools, wherewithal or leverage to implement their own policies.

They are operationally incapable.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#136

Post by blobbers »

toto444 wrote: post #106
blobbers wrote: post #91

Why does Airbnb have no competitors? The site itself is not a huge value add. Their search is not fantastic. Uber has Lyft, Airbnb has ... vrbo??? no major competitors?

Could you expand on what's wrong with their search ?

There's nothing in particular "wrong" with it but it has missing features with tradeoffs.

Try searching for certain amenities that you might need when traveling with younger kids, or trying pinpointing exact locations, and you won't be able to.

There are certainly reasons they use regions rather than addresses, that I do not dispute.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#137

Post by ryandrake »

romanhn wrote: post #132
OnlyLys wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we're on this topic... Late last year I wrote a detail review of a place I stayed at that was poorly maintained. I made the review very detailed, even providing picture evidence of the dirty microwave and clogged air conditioners to prove that the place did not deserve all the 5-stars it was getting. After I posted it, I realised that no one will ever read it, because all the paragraphs I wrote were merged into…

Yep, I literally went through all same reactions, until I realized that these decisions were all intentional on Airbnb's part and served to inflate the ratings and reviews on the site. That's when the trust was lost.

I'm always shocked that anyone still trusts online ratings and reviews of anything. You've also got fake Amazon reviews, Yelp manipulating reviews based on whether the business pays them, and all kinds of other examples of online reviews being total rubbish, yet somehow people still look at them. It's like the X-files: "I want to believe!"

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#138

Post by twblalock »

miked85 wrote: post #80
eanzenberg wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Covid is going away in 6-12 months. I wouldn’t stake a long term business proposal on it.

> Covid is going away in 6-12 months. I think it will take a lot longer than that for people's behaviors to change back though.

People are already behaving like they did before. That's why the case counts have been rising so fast nationwide.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#139

Post by twblalock »

beambot wrote: post #23
twblalock wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't they grant new options to the employees whose options expire? An IPO seems like a pretty big hammer for that particular nail.

Granting new options causes tax headaches: If strike price << fair market value, you get taxed immediately on the illiquid gains.

That depends on the type of options. Some are only taxable at exercise.

Re: Airbnb Plans to File Confidentially for IPO in August

#140

Post by totalZero »

OnlyLys wrote: post #126
romanhn wrote: post #76

I recently had the occasion to stay with 4 different Airbnb hosts over the span of under a month, my takeaway was that if I owned any Airbnb stock, I would've sold it immediately. The first two accommodations were huge let downs in terms of cleanliness, despite both advertising Enhanced Clean. The first trip was booked for a month, but we got sick of ants, mice and lack of action after about a week and left early. Th…

While we're on this topic... Late last year I wrote a detail review of a place I stayed at that was poorly maintained. I made the review very detailed, even providing picture evidence of the dirty microwave and clogged air conditioners to prove that the place did not deserve all the 5-stars it was getting. After I posted it, I realised that no one will ever read it, because all the paragraphs I wrote were merged into…

I would read your review anyway, even if it is a difficult process. I never book an Airbnb without reading every review first.

So, at least in my view it's good that you posted that review.

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