Introducing Airbnb Plus • Hacker News Board

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#41

Post by epanchin » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 5:54 PM UTC

Gys wrote: post #5

Airbnb 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 agree there’s room for a lower end competitor.

I used to rent out a room on Airbnb, it was a great experience. Both renting and staying I met cool people, as they were often keen to chat or hang out. And cheaper than a hotel, usually hostel prices. I never minded that staying in someone’s house would often mean a haphazardly tidied room with no available cupboard space.

Fast forwards a few years and I rent out a spare room to a friend at below market price, well below Airbnb price. I can’t be bothered with the standard that people now expect, I hate the attitude of Airbnb (ie use instant book or get fcked), and I find myself feeling guilty at contributing to the short supply in housing.

Nor have I stayed in an Airbnb for a couple of years, I’m back to hotels. It’s not cheaper (what are their fees even for?), and it’s usually a purposed Airbnb property, rather than someone’s home. It’s lost it’s magic.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#42

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 5:55 PM UTC

annexrichmond wrote: post #36

This is strange marketing as it almost sounds like the non-Plus listings aren't what people already expect to some degree from an airbnb. > With Airbnb Plus, you can always check in effortlessly. Every home is equipped with a lockbox, keypad, or a host who is on-call to greet you. This is so weird. How would you otherwise check in to a home if it doesn't have self check in or a host? > When you book an Airbnb Plus ho…

[deleted]

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#43

Post by epanchin » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 5:56 PM UTC

volkk wrote: post #10

Gys wrote: post #5

Airbnb 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

My accommodation in Eastern European services apartments for this weekend is cheaper than the fees would be on Airbnb. The price slider cannot fix that.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#44

Post by nmeofthestate » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 5:57 PM UTC

Makes sense - a subset that's had a bit more oversight from AirBnB, to filter out the ghost hotels and places with one fork, no coffee machine, and furniture that's all basic IKEA stuff.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#45

Post by jVinc » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:00 PM UTC

So they basically just used user feedback to sort their existing catalog into two catagories letting the upper one increase their prices.

Makes sense. You were able to find some killer deals with extremely nice places that where waay underpriced because the hosts were decent human beings. They'll likely get contacted by AirBnB with "You could join airBnB plus... and you can price it 40% higher than current with us only taking twice our usual cut" or similar

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#46

Post by ghaff » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:00 PM UTC

fbdjskajxb wrote: post #39

matte_black wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I don’t understand, how would AirBnB segmenting their marketing cause it to cost twice as much? Imagine AirBnB and the low cost company both exist as you imagine. Now suppose AirBnB buys the low cost company and doesn’t change their marketing at all. Of course marketing ROI for each of the two segments doesn’t change. Compare this to the case where AirBnB operates in the two segments without buying low cost company.…

Furthermore, many of the major hotel chains have a bunch of brands, each of which caters to a particular demographic. Usually one or more of the brands cater to the price conscious and others are higher-end. If anything, there's an argument for AirBnB to have come up with more distinctive branding for a new product.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#47

Post by spaceflunky » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:08 PM UTC

annexrichmond wrote: post #36

This is strange marketing as it almost sounds like the non-Plus listings aren't what people already expect to some degree from an airbnb. > With Airbnb Plus, you can always check in effortlessly. Every home is equipped with a lockbox, keypad, or a host who is on-call to greet you. This is so weird. How would you otherwise check in to a home if it doesn't have self check in or a host? > When you book an Airbnb Plus ho…

New slogan: "Airbnb Plus: Everything else is a dump"

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#48

Post by seatonist » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:09 PM UTC

annexrichmond wrote: post #36

This is strange marketing as it almost sounds like the non-Plus listings aren't what people already expect to some degree from an airbnb. > With Airbnb Plus, you can always check in effortlessly. Every home is equipped with a lockbox, keypad, or a host who is on-call to greet you. This is so weird. How would you otherwise check in to a home if it doesn't have self check in or a host? > When you book an Airbnb Plus ho…

Many Airbnbs I've stayed in will just have a key under a house plant or doormat. The key can be a little tricky to find that way but for a lower cost listing it's totally fine (by me).

I suspect that's the sort of practice they're trying to parse out for this Plus offering.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#49

Post by ghaff » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:10 PM UTC

epanchin wrote: post #41

Gys wrote: post #5

Airbnb 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 agree there’s room for a lower end competitor. I used to rent out a room on Airbnb, it was a great experience. Both renting and staying I met cool people, as they were often keen to chat or hang out. And cheaper than a hotel, usually hostel prices. I never minded that staying in someone’s house would often mean a haphazardly tidied room with no available cupboard space. Fast forwards a few years and I rent out a sp…

The problem is that businesses initially built around genuinely amateur money-making on the side (Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, I'm sure many others) tend to attract professionals who often push many of the initial users out. And the higher volumes are more attractive for the businesses mediating the service so they don't have much incentive to really stop it.

It does open up the opportunity for new entrants to come in that are like "X but in the old days." Though it's now harder with a big incumbent and the cycle will probably repeat again if they're successful.

Re: Introducing Airbnb Plus

#50

Post by Consultant32452 » Thu, Feb 22, 2018, 6:13 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #2

Inching closer to a mainstream hotel brand. Can't complain about more competition, assuming it's zoned properly.

I usually check AirBnB but lately the best prices after fees are higher than mainstream hotel brands. To a certain extent this is controlled by property owners more than AirBnB itself, they've figured out they can charge more.

The result is that while I used to go to AirBnB for the discounts, it's now becoming a premium brand with a premium price.

It may be worth noting that I always opt for "whole place." It may be different if you're willing to get just a room.