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I'd be curious how you'd approach it with something far more accusatory? Take Airbnb for example: I am very bothered by airbnb's approach to laws. I think they

I'd be curious how you'd approach it with something far more accusatory? Take Airbnb for example: I am very bothered by airbnb's approach to laws. I think they deliberately ignore laws in the name of making a profit. It's probably not "nice" to question why they look the other way in major markets where they know their listings are breaking the law, but it certainly isn't nice that they choose what laws apply to them and which ones they choose to fight a marketing campaign over.

raldi 11y ago
"This sounds like a gigantic untapped opportunity -- it's such a waste that so many beds and couches lie unused for large chunks of the year, and there are lots of travelers that couldn't care less about concierge desks and bellhops, and would much prefer to save money or stay in more interesting lodging, but hotels don't seem interested in serving that market. However, I'm not sure I can upvote this proposal in good conscience; it sounds like you're planning to deliberately ignore laws, grow big, and then seek to have those laws overturned. Am I misunderstanding something, or is that really the plan?"
grossvogel 11y ago
"I'm concerned that your business model relies on regulatory arbitrage and/or your hosts' willingness to violate local ordinances. Not only would that make you vulnerable to changes in the legal / enforcement landscape, but there's also a growing backlash in some quarters (including on HN) against this type of business. Can you provide any assurances that this business would be sustainable if you were forced to rely on 100% legal and taxed host properties?"
kaitai 11y ago
I don't honestly see anything not nice in what you said (and I've learned as a Midwesterner nice is very important to me). You didn't insult anyone, there isn't condescension dripping from the comment, you didn't trivialize anything, you didn't even throw shade. You made some direct statements without being a jerk. Sounds good to me! I think the confusion is in whether conflict-avoidance is the same as nice-ness. I certainly was brought up to mostly think that way, but now that I've spent a lot of time arguing about math I have let go of some of that training.

raldi 11y ago

"This sounds like a gigantic untapped opportunity -- it's such a waste that so many beds and couches lie unused for large chunks of the year, and there are lots of travelers that couldn't care less about concierge desks and bellhops, and would much prefer to save money or stay in more interesting lodging, but hotels don't seem interested in serving that market. However, I'm not sure I can upvote this proposal in good conscience; it sounds like you're planning to deliberately ignore laws, grow big, and then seek to have those laws overturned. Am I misunderstanding something, or is that really the plan?"

grossvogel 11y ago

"I'm concerned that your business model relies on regulatory arbitrage and/or your hosts' willingness to violate local ordinances. Not only would that make you vulnerable to changes in the legal / enforcement landscape, but there's also a growing backlash in some quarters (including on HN) against this type of business. Can you provide any assurances that this business would be sustainable if you were forced to rely on 100% legal and taxed host properties?"

kaitai 11y ago

I don't honestly see anything not nice in what you said (and I've learned as a Midwesterner nice is very important to me). You didn't insult anyone, there isn't condescension dripping from the comment, you didn't trivialize anything, you didn't even throw shade. You made some direct statements without being a jerk. Sounds good to me! I think the confusion is in whether conflict-avoidance is the same as nice-ness. I certainly was brought up to mostly think that way, but now that I've spent a lot of time arguing about math I have let go of some of that training.