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I ran into the AirBnB guys around the time they were in YC. It was a bad idea then, and it is still a bad idea. They were pitching a for-profit couchsurfing clo

I ran into the AirBnB guys around the time they were in YC. It was a bad idea then, and it is still a bad idea. They were pitching a for-profit couchsurfing clone. And that idea never did take off, really. What happened is they persisted and were positioned to pivot to vacation rentals and then create a new segment of pseudo-hotel operations at a time when real estate values crashed and the economy was down. The combination of lots of investment real estate under water and a down economy is what made the hotel idea take off.

graeme 9y ago
What was wrong with "for profit couchsurfing clone"? That's still a good chunk of airbnb's listings today, and it was a big part of the site in the early years when it was gaining traction. I used to do couchsurfing and I've used airbnb a lot, and there's a lot of overlap in the experience when renting a room. (The whole apartment rentals are different of course, which are a unique hybrid, not even really like a hotel. More like short term furnished apartment rentals, of the kind that formerly worked on a monthly basis for corporate travelers)