4 ms·

Insurance and regulation arbitrage is basically the name of the game for Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb as far as I can tell.

by jdmichal 11y ago

pbreit 11y ago
That sounds clever and informed but is mostly obnoxious.
- 1stop 11y ago
  Are you describing your own comment? That's very meta!
- jdmichal 11y ago
  I didn't mean to offend, but I apparently have. I truly believe what I said, so I would like to know how would you suggest I improve the comment?
  - phil248 11y ago
    You could improve your comment by acknowledging that most businesses cajole, skirt, finagle or ignore regulations when it suits their purpose and they think they can get away with it. Uber and AirBnB did not invent this game.
    - username223 11y ago
      > Uber and AirBnB did not invent this game. True, but most businesses (outside finance) have other ways to make money besides cajoling, skirting, finagling or ignoring laws (or the latinate "regulations," as you prefer).
      - repsilat 11y ago
        > or the latinate "regulations," as you prefer "Regulation" (at least in the US) is a broader category, covering both "laws" passed by elected lawmakers and "rules" made by unelected public servants.
  - pbreit 11y ago
    For starters, suggesting that the primary cause of their success is anything other than consistently executing at a high level is insulting. Secondly, Uber got big using exclusively licensed town cars. And vacation rentals have been around for centuries.
- massysett 11y ago
  What? It's well known that both Uber and AirBnB long relied on their users to operate unlicensed jitneys and unlicensed, uninspected, uninsured lodging houses.
  - pbreit 11y ago
    Uber originally was exclusively licensed town cars. Vacation rentals have been around for centuries. And both are primarily successful because they have executed at a very high level on a consistent basis.
BurningFrog 11y ago
To me, the game of the "sharing economy" is to use the vastly lowered transaction and communication costs of the internet to make better use of unused capital. Cars and housing in those cases. That regulation is a decade or two behind the technology is unfortunate, but merely a side story.
tomjen3 11y ago
I spend two nights with Airbnb hosts. Both had a spare room, one was home writing her thesis the other a single mother. Both could use the additional money more than the few minutes of bathroom/kitchen time that I used. I also spend a couple nights with family - they don't have any special insurance or taxes for me either. I don't really see any difference, I didn't annoy the neighbours in any case.

Insurance and regulation arbitrage is basically the name of the game for Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb as far as I can tell.

pbreit 11y ago

That sounds clever and informed but is mostly obnoxious.

1stop 11y ago
Are you describing your own comment? That's very meta!
jdmichal 11y ago
I didn't mean to offend, but I apparently have. I truly believe what I said, so I would like to know how would you suggest I improve the comment?
- phil248 11y ago
  You could improve your comment by acknowledging that most businesses cajole, skirt, finagle or ignore regulations when it suits their purpose and they think they can get away with it. Uber and AirBnB did not invent this game.
  - username223 11y ago
    > Uber and AirBnB did not invent this game. True, but most businesses (outside finance) have other ways to make money besides cajoling, skirting, finagling or ignoring laws (or the latinate "regulations," as you prefer).
    - repsilat 11y ago
      > or the latinate "regulations," as you prefer "Regulation" (at least in the US) is a broader category, covering both "laws" passed by elected lawmakers and "rules" made by unelected public servants.
- pbreit 11y ago
  For starters, suggesting that the primary cause of their success is anything other than consistently executing at a high level is insulting. Secondly, Uber got big using exclusively licensed town cars. And vacation rentals have been around for centuries.
massysett 11y ago
What? It's well known that both Uber and AirBnB long relied on their users to operate unlicensed jitneys and unlicensed, uninspected, uninsured lodging houses.
- pbreit 11y ago
  Uber originally was exclusively licensed town cars. Vacation rentals have been around for centuries. And both are primarily successful because they have executed at a very high level on a consistent basis.

BurningFrog 11y ago

To me, the game of the "sharing economy" is to use the vastly lowered transaction and communication costs of the internet to make better use of unused capital. Cars and housing in those cases. That regulation is a decade or two behind the technology is unfortunate, but merely a side story.

tomjen3 11y ago

I spend two nights with Airbnb hosts. Both had a spare room, one was home writing her thesis the other a single mother. Both could use the additional money more than the few minutes of bathroom/kitchen time that I used. I also spend a couple nights with family - they don't have any special insurance or taxes for me either. I don't really see any difference, I didn't annoy the neighbours in any case.