The way that I understand Airbnb's business is that they're providing an "inferior good" at least when compared to a hotel room (this is not a slight on their b

The way that I understand Airbnb's business is that they're providing an "inferior good" at least when compared to a hotel room (this is not a slight on their business). Inferior goods usually do well in poor economies (if I remember correctly, Hormel was doing really well with Spam just after the recession hit). So the fact that Airbnb is doing well probably may not be indicative of a positive trend for the economy. Then again, one company's success or failure rarely has much to do with the economy anyway.