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Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

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Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#211

Post by blaser-waffle »

anigbrowl wrote: post #87

They're doomed, and the collapse in travel and discretionary spending could take a lot of property owners down with it. On the plus side this might clear a lot of greed out of the property market, allow prices to return to a saner median, and relieve the housing shortage that obtains in many places.

I don't think they're doomed. COVID-19 is a big deal, but eventually it will pass, people will resume travel, and people will get back to work; the world eventually resumed after the Black Plague and the Spanish Flu, and this isn't anywhere near as bad.

Like, I hope the AirBnB trend slows down greatly for all of the reasons you listed, but they exist because people don't have the need or ability to pay for more expensive, temporary lodging.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#212

Post by baby »

himinlomax wrote: post #200
jchb wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why is it up to me to do weird math to figure out if I actually have enough $$$ to pay for what I'd like to have. Well, one reason is: to make you aware of the tax burden (and judge if that % is kept at a reasonable level), rather than hiding it in the total price.

And why do I, as a customer, have to expend that effort to "be aware of the tax burden"?

It also seems to have nasty incentives, I've never heard of people talking about taxes so much before moving to the US. Here everybody is afraid of taxes going up, and people who support Sanders' ideas are not voting for him because "he is going to raise the taxes".

But in my opinion it's backward, instead of being up-front about costs, they are HIDING costs. I can still see how much taxes is taken when I get a receipt in France for example, it's just not hidden from you at the beginning of the transaction.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#213

Post by lagartoflojo »

baby wrote: post #178
elif wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what you mean about lying about prices.. I've booked 28 stays on 5 continents since 2014 and never been lied to. Do you mean having to click on "price breakdown" to see the service and cleaning fees? Do you mean hosts asking for cash payments for things like linens and key deposits? (These have happened to me, but it is against ToS and Airbnb took my side) My current travel plans are chaos due to cancellatio…

> Not sure what you mean about lying about prices challenge accepted: https://imgur.com/gallery/6UeavrH * I've searched for 4 nights in SF some time in May * the second result is 99$/night * bill for 4 nights end up being 561$. 150$ magically appeared. That's a 40% increase at checkout time lol. Again I love AirBnB but this is scamy.

Pro-tip: Use https://www.airbnb.com.au - the site will show the real final price, by Australian law.

What do you know, such issues can be resolved via proper regulation....

(Btw, you can also change the currency by clicking on the "world icon" at the top right).

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#214

Post by LegitShady »

exhilaration wrote: post #140
ohbleek wrote: post #136

AirBnB failed. I don't even check it out anymore when I travel because a hotel typically costs about the same due to the fees charged by the hosts. I would choose a hotel over AirBnB until the price difference is 15-20% lower in favor of AirBnB because there are too many unknowns with AirBnB and the novelty has worn off entirely. Plus since so many listings are owned by some company or person renting out multiple loc…

What AirBnB has over hotels is locations inside neighborhoods. Take Montreal for example, the hotels are clustered downtown, which is fine if that's what you're looking for. But by staying in an AirBnB you get a local experience, in a local neighborhood. It's like this all over the world.

As far as I know the locals in most places despise the train of strangers who make noise late near their house/building and hope they aren't people with bad intentions.

Sleeping in an Airbnb is no more local than a hotel except hotels can't get zoning in those neighborhoods and wouldn't get permits for fire safety with those buildings.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#215

Post by elif »

baby wrote: post #186
elif wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your screenshot says "$492 total" which includes the cleaning and service fees. The service and cleaning fees are set by the host, and can be $0. Then it adds the California taxes on the checkout page. That is what hotels do too.

Ah, looks like they added august last year, hadn't noticed that! It is still hidden, and not the fair price (which they could calculate). > That is what hotels do too Hotels who do this are scammy IMO. I've only seen this in the US.

Scammy hotels?

I just tried on Marriott and Hilton in SF.

They both did this.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#216

Post by baby »

elif wrote: post #215
baby wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, looks like they added august last year, hadn't noticed that! It is still hidden, and not the fair price (which they could calculate). > That is what hotels do too Hotels who do this are scammy IMO. I've only seen this in the US.

Scammy hotels? I just tried on Marriott and Hilton in SF. They both did this.

That's bad :/

hopefully they stop this anti-consumer practice. I'm hopping AirBnB can lead the way there.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#217

Post by allarm »

thedance wrote: post #145
jdm2212 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent a week in an Airbnb near Dubrovnik, Croatia and it seemed like a normal, if slightly touristy European city in pretty much every way. And the Airbnb was really nice, too. Not sure where you're getting this stuff about "doesn't exactly scream 'rule of law'".

Croatia is a moderately corrupt mafia state. My personal view on this was formed when a Croatian coast guard officer demanded a bribe from me. But also https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_percept...

And still, Dubrovnik is safer than SF. I stayed close to Tenderloin there once, unforgettable.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#218

Post by amiga_500 »

cycrutchfield wrote: post #155
amiga_500 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working hard for getting a mortgage paid off when most people can't even afford one home, is he? Who creates the value that makes people choose his location?

The level of salt in this comment is off the charts. Yes, somebody is able to get a mortgage and make money off their investment. Just because you are unable to do so doesn’t have anything to do with that.

They are the same as people buying up hand disinfect to sell at a profit

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#219

Post by cycrutchfield »

amiga_500 wrote: post #218
cycrutchfield wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The level of salt in this comment is off the charts. Yes, somebody is able to get a mortgage and make money off their investment. Just because you are unable to do so doesn’t have anything to do with that.

They are the same as people buying up hand disinfect to sell at a profit

Sad to see your delusions prevent you from having an honest discussion.

Re: Airbnb’s loss nearly doubles in fourth quarter, before virus

#220

Post by nuggien »

Jommi wrote: post #56
nuggien wrote: post #42

Airbnb is a shitty company. Last october we traveled to Seoul and couldn't find the location of the apartment we booked. Even the local taxi driver couldn't find it after circling the area for ~30 minutes. We called the host during the entire 30 minutes and didn't get through to them. After about 1 hour of time, we decided to call it quits and go book a hotel because it was 10pm at night and our kids needed to sleep.…

You're basically conflating different expectations in living conditions to being dishonest reviews. Your example of Tokyo feels absolutely tone deaf to me as someone who has been there multiple times. That's just the reality of the Tokyo rent market. The places are tiny and that's how the culture is there.

Not my first rodeo in Tokyo in an Airbnb dude, and I’m not conflating shit. I’ve had good experiences in Tokyo Airbnb as well as in Hong Kong and Taipei where space is just as limited. My frustration is with the host where we clearly asked up front before booking whether this would be a good place for my family. And the pics were definitely not representative of the actual space.
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