6 ms·

I wonder how you phrase the offer. If I were planning to interview with a company and they suggested I use the service, I would get the impression the company

I wonder how you phrase the offer. If I were planning to interview with a company and they suggested I use the service, I would get the impression the company is cheap beyond practicality, and find a way to politely back out of the interview.

smokinn 16y ago
I would think the same. There's obviously a market for people who don't mind sleeping with strangers but I'm definitely not in it. I'm way too paranoid that I would get robbed. The credit card cloning example from the original article would probably be my biggest fear. I'd be checking my credit card purchases multiple times a day for weeks I'm sure. While actually there I'm sure I would put my wallet, phone and anything else that's valuable in a bag and sleep on top of it. It wouldn't be a very relaxing night's sleep just before an interview. On the other hand, hostels tend to be cheaper than AirBnB and I have no problems sleeping there.
- naz 16y ago
  You're scared of getting robbed by a middle-class condo owner, but you'll happily share a hostel room with 6 traveling youths?
  - smokinn 16y ago
    Most hostels have dorm and private room options. I just get the private room. It's more expensive than the dorm but way less expensive than a hotel. I've never slept in a hostel that only offered dorm rooms. I'm just as paranoid about the dorm option.
    - ohashi 16y ago
      I have stayed in a few hostels with lots of people... met lots of fun and interesting people. Never once had any issues.
    - byw 16y ago
      Just curious, is this true mostly in a certain region or all over the world? Also, what kind of price different should I be expecting between the dorm and the private room?
      - smokinn 16y ago
        I'm not sure, I've mostly only stayed in hostels in Canada. The last one I stayed at in Ottawa had rooms for 25$/night in the dorm or 60$/night for a private single bed room. http://www.ottawahostel.com/ http://www.ottawahostel.com/
        ido 16y ago
        In most of Europe it seems ~20 euros/night for a dorm bed is about the standard. I'm used hostels (& couch surfing) quite a lot and never really had problems, but I guess it depends on the region you are traveling in. Tallanvor's approach seems unnecessarily paranoid to me, but I don't know where he travels too.
  - quadhome 16y ago
    Hostelworld says privates in New York start at $15. http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/New-York http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/New-York
- mschaecher 16y ago
  The hosts on Airbnb don't get your credit card info...Same as, you know shopping on Ebay. I just moved across country. I stayed at 3 different places of Airbnb over the course of 2 weeks while I looked for a place with roommates off Craigslist. Each host was great and I never felt anything but safe. The only reason I stayed at multiple is because they had other bookings coming in so I couldn't extend.
  - jonknee 16y ago
    I think he meant someone picking up your card and duping it while you sleep (since it's not a hotel and there's shared access).
- megablast 16y ago
  One of the major problems with modern society is this paranoia that everything on the news is true, and a good representation of the general population. I have stayed in 100s of shared hostel rooms, never had a problem. I have heard stories, we all have heard stories, but they are so minor to be negligible. You are in more danger getting to the hostel/house than you are once you are there. I suggest you actually get out more and experience people, share a room, it is a great way to stop your foolish attitude. If you have a car, then you are already way to cut off from the real world.
- tallanvor 16y ago
  You lost me on the hostel part, but that could be because I'm getting old. :) And the credit card issue isn't that much of a problem since AirBnB handles it and the person you're renting from never sees it. I considered using AirBnB for a trip I just booked to Greece, but I decided against it. For several reasons: 1. I don't know how clean the place will be. With a 3 or 4 star hotel with good reviews online, I can be fairly certain I'll get a place that is clean. 2. I don't know how secure the place will be. The rooms I booked all have in room safes, so I can leave my netbook in my room and be fairly certain it will be there when I get back. 3. Getting a private apartment on AirBnB isn't that much cheaper than a hotel. No offense to the hosts offering a room in their place or their couch, but when I'm on vacation, I don't want to share a place with people I don't know. I'm just not that type of person. All of that adds up to general uncertainty over the use of AirBnB. And if a company I was interviewing with wanted me to use AirBnB to find a place to stay, well, that would give me serious reservations as to whether or not I'd want to work there. The possible exception would be if I were interviewing with AirBnB themselves.
- houseabsolute 16y ago
  Because robbers love a paper trail . . . I agree that suggesting airbnb would be a turnoff. But this is not why, at least not for me.
j_baker 16y ago
There's a difference between being cheap and being frugal. Learn to recognize the difference. Frugality is a good sign, cheapness isn't. Frugality: "If at all possible, I'd prefer if you used airbnb. If you don't want to, that's cool." Cheapness: "We won't spend more than $50 a night in San Francisco."
- wensing 16y ago
  What potential hire would want to risk offending them by turning down their preference, though? You're introducing pressure and sending a signal. Frugality is better applied to ink cartridges than employee comforts, IMO.
  - mkramlich 16y ago
    ie. skimp on commodities, not on talent
    - roc 16y ago
      Skimping on commodities that affect the talent is skimping on the talent.
      - blueben 16y ago
        I guess that is why thousands of startups are running out of run-down brick warehouses covered in a swipe of fresh paint in some of the most seismically unstable areas of San Francisco; because people care that their companies are skimping on rent.
        roc 16y ago
        I was referring specifically to the skimping that reaches the level where it effects the talent. Choosing functional real estate can certainly be fine. But what would you think of a startup that chose Oakland over SF to save even more money?
  - 16y ago
kaens 16y ago
I, on the other hand, would have a higher impression of the company, as I think that promoting and supporting business models that more directly enable individuals to make a living without a lot of middlemen is important right now.
- philwelch 16y ago
  That doesn't make literal sense. AirBnB is a middleman, but the enabling type just like Craigslist or PayPal or eBay or something.
  - kaens 16y ago
    Of course. My comment wasn't phrased extremely well. They just don't do much other than providing centralization of information. That's why "without a whole lot of middlemen" -- the line between AirBnB and the individual is pretty direct. I think that services like that are important right now, and I'm glad that they exist.
Confusion 16y ago
You're not interviewing with a company: you're interviewing with a startup. They're not going to offer you the salary you could get elsewhere either. If you take that as a sign they're cheap, you do not want to work for a startup.
- sandofsky 16y ago
  I've worked at two startups. There's nothing wrong with being cheap. That's why I included the phrase "beyond practicality." How much are you spending to fly out the applicant? How many man hours will be spent on the interview process? If you're willing to risk these investments to save $50, I consider that impractical.
  - Confusion 16y ago
    That argument presupposes that you are taking a risk. However, that is the point under discussion: is it a risk? You could also consider it in a positive way: people that are put off by something as irrelevant as where they stay, that worry about comfort, are less likely to be a suitable candidate. There'll be more uncomfortable circumstances to deal with. Of course, this is from my point of view: I presuppose that 'where you stay' is irrelevant, because I consider it irrelevant. If I have to sleep on a couch in the founder's living room, so be it. Perhaps you are right that one should best err on the safe side of caution by providing a hotel. Nobody's ever been fired for providing a hotel room :P
justin_vanw 16y ago
If you can't deal with a reasonable level of cheap, don't apply at a startup. You don't get rich by spending other peoples money on hotel rooms.

smokinn 16y ago

I would think the same. There's obviously a market for people who don't mind sleeping with strangers but I'm definitely not in it. I'm way too paranoid that I would get robbed. The credit card cloning example from the original article would probably be my biggest fear. I'd be checking my credit card purchases multiple times a day for weeks I'm sure. While actually there I'm sure I would put my wallet, phone and anything else that's valuable in a bag and sleep on top of it. It wouldn't be a very relaxing night's sleep just before an interview. On the other hand, hostels tend to be cheaper than AirBnB and I have no problems sleeping there.

naz 16y ago
You're scared of getting robbed by a middle-class condo owner, but you'll happily share a hostel room with 6 traveling youths?
- smokinn 16y ago
  Most hostels have dorm and private room options. I just get the private room. It's more expensive than the dorm but way less expensive than a hotel. I've never slept in a hostel that only offered dorm rooms. I'm just as paranoid about the dorm option.
  - ohashi 16y ago
    I have stayed in a few hostels with lots of people... met lots of fun and interesting people. Never once had any issues.
  - byw 16y ago
    Just curious, is this true mostly in a certain region or all over the world? Also, what kind of price different should I be expecting between the dorm and the private room?
    - smokinn 16y ago
      I'm not sure, I've mostly only stayed in hostels in Canada. The last one I stayed at in Ottawa had rooms for 25$/night in the dorm or 60$/night for a private single bed room. http://www.ottawahostel.com/ http://www.ottawahostel.com/
      - ido 16y ago
        In most of Europe it seems ~20 euros/night for a dorm bed is about the standard. I'm used hostels (& couch surfing) quite a lot and never really had problems, but I guess it depends on the region you are traveling in. Tallanvor's approach seems unnecessarily paranoid to me, but I don't know where he travels too.
- quadhome 16y ago
  Hostelworld says privates in New York start at $15. http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/New-York http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/New-York
mschaecher 16y ago
The hosts on Airbnb don't get your credit card info...Same as, you know shopping on Ebay. I just moved across country. I stayed at 3 different places of Airbnb over the course of 2 weeks while I looked for a place with roommates off Craigslist. Each host was great and I never felt anything but safe. The only reason I stayed at multiple is because they had other bookings coming in so I couldn't extend.
- jonknee 16y ago
  I think he meant someone picking up your card and duping it while you sleep (since it's not a hotel and there's shared access).
megablast 16y ago
One of the major problems with modern society is this paranoia that everything on the news is true, and a good representation of the general population. I have stayed in 100s of shared hostel rooms, never had a problem. I have heard stories, we all have heard stories, but they are so minor to be negligible. You are in more danger getting to the hostel/house than you are once you are there. I suggest you actually get out more and experience people, share a room, it is a great way to stop your foolish attitude. If you have a car, then you are already way to cut off from the real world.
tallanvor 16y ago
You lost me on the hostel part, but that could be because I'm getting old. :) And the credit card issue isn't that much of a problem since AirBnB handles it and the person you're renting from never sees it. I considered using AirBnB for a trip I just booked to Greece, but I decided against it. For several reasons: 1. I don't know how clean the place will be. With a 3 or 4 star hotel with good reviews online, I can be fairly certain I'll get a place that is clean. 2. I don't know how secure the place will be. The rooms I booked all have in room safes, so I can leave my netbook in my room and be fairly certain it will be there when I get back. 3. Getting a private apartment on AirBnB isn't that much cheaper than a hotel. No offense to the hosts offering a room in their place or their couch, but when I'm on vacation, I don't want to share a place with people I don't know. I'm just not that type of person. All of that adds up to general uncertainty over the use of AirBnB. And if a company I was interviewing with wanted me to use AirBnB to find a place to stay, well, that would give me serious reservations as to whether or not I'd want to work there. The possible exception would be if I were interviewing with AirBnB themselves.
houseabsolute 16y ago
Because robbers love a paper trail . . . I agree that suggesting airbnb would be a turnoff. But this is not why, at least not for me.

j_baker 16y ago

There's a difference between being cheap and being frugal. Learn to recognize the difference. Frugality is a good sign, cheapness isn't. Frugality: "If at all possible, I'd prefer if you used airbnb. If you don't want to, that's cool." Cheapness: "We won't spend more than $50 a night in San Francisco."

wensing 16y ago
What potential hire would want to risk offending them by turning down their preference, though? You're introducing pressure and sending a signal. Frugality is better applied to ink cartridges than employee comforts, IMO.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  ie. skimp on commodities, not on talent
  - roc 16y ago
    Skimping on commodities that affect the talent is skimping on the talent.
    - blueben 16y ago
      I guess that is why thousands of startups are running out of run-down brick warehouses covered in a swipe of fresh paint in some of the most seismically unstable areas of San Francisco; because people care that their companies are skimping on rent.
      - roc 16y ago
        I was referring specifically to the skimping that reaches the level where it effects the talent. Choosing functional real estate can certainly be fine. But what would you think of a startup that chose Oakland over SF to save even more money?
- 16y ago

kaens 16y ago

I, on the other hand, would have a higher impression of the company, as I think that promoting and supporting business models that more directly enable individuals to make a living without a lot of middlemen is important right now.

philwelch 16y ago
That doesn't make literal sense. AirBnB is a middleman, but the enabling type just like Craigslist or PayPal or eBay or something.
- kaens 16y ago
  Of course. My comment wasn't phrased extremely well. They just don't do much other than providing centralization of information. That's why "without a whole lot of middlemen" -- the line between AirBnB and the individual is pretty direct. I think that services like that are important right now, and I'm glad that they exist.

Confusion 16y ago

You're not interviewing with a company: you're interviewing with a startup. They're not going to offer you the salary you could get elsewhere either. If you take that as a sign they're cheap, you do not want to work for a startup.

sandofsky 16y ago
I've worked at two startups. There's nothing wrong with being cheap. That's why I included the phrase "beyond practicality." How much are you spending to fly out the applicant? How many man hours will be spent on the interview process? If you're willing to risk these investments to save $50, I consider that impractical.
- Confusion 16y ago
  That argument presupposes that you are taking a risk. However, that is the point under discussion: is it a risk? You could also consider it in a positive way: people that are put off by something as irrelevant as where they stay, that worry about comfort, are less likely to be a suitable candidate. There'll be more uncomfortable circumstances to deal with. Of course, this is from my point of view: I presuppose that 'where you stay' is irrelevant, because I consider it irrelevant. If I have to sleep on a couch in the founder's living room, so be it. Perhaps you are right that one should best err on the safe side of caution by providing a hotel. Nobody's ever been fired for providing a hotel room :P

justin_vanw 16y ago

If you can't deal with a reasonable level of cheap, don't apply at a startup. You don't get rich by spending other peoples money on hotel rooms.