8 ms·

Airbnb is trying to make more money by offering experiences (events that generally seem very expensive to me) and moving to a more high-end branding. If I open

by Gys 9y ago

Airbnb is trying to make more money by offering experiences (events that generally seem very expensive to me) and moving to a more high-end branding. If I open the website I mostly see the more exclusive places first. I think this opens opportunities at the bottom. A website that focusses on functionality and cheaper rooms. The public is now familiar with the concept. Some people do not want to pay above hotel prices to stay somewhere for the night only. They are looking for a simple, clean and cheap bed. I am one of those.

halfteatree 9y ago
If you look at the list of homes listed, I wouldn't say they are above hotel price at all.
m-watson 9y ago
That is definitely an interesting perspective and I would agree there are a lot of people who just want the lower cost and clean bed for a night. However, is this move to add functionality really moving Airbnb out of the low cost market? You can still find very inexpensive options (as long as there are hosts) on the website. Airbnb, I would say, is just expanding their market pool not limiting it.
KyleGalvin 9y ago
The extreme of the bottom end is couchsurfing.com which might chew into the niche you describe. There is still some room in the middle, but success isn't guaranteed in that sort of market.
- akhunt1002 9y ago
  I think transaction is important because it's explicit, and people are far likelier to respond. Couchsurfing is free, so the incentive is low, but the community is the most important part of it. I think combining community and transaction is a huge opportunity (I'm also biased :))
volkk 9y ago
i don't see how a whole new company can exist to fill in the gap of what airbnb's price slider filter can fix in 2 seconds
- dazc 9y ago
  From my experience relying on the slider means you miss a lot of options. For example, some hosts have huge differences in pricing depending on the length of stay. I have found weird results where it's been cheaper to rent for a month than for 2 weeks at the same property.
- pen2l 9y ago
  There's always room for improvement. You could have said the same about craiglists -- what's the need of airbnb, craigslist/couchsurf.com etc. already exists. I think grandparent post has a good point, I'm also one of the people looking for something cheaper, and most airbnb's are often out of my price range.
- matte_black 9y ago
  It’s not enough to have a slider, you also need to actively market to people looking for cheap places to stay in the first place, or they will never even think to use your precious slider. This splits AirBnBs marketing on two fronts: high end and low end. This either doubles their marketing cost or halves their marketing budget for each audience. Take your pick. A company focused on low cost listings only has to market to one audience, which results in significantly cheaper marketing cost, which means better profitability, which means longer staying power, which means eventually they own a large percentage of the low end market. Game Over.
  - volkk 9y ago
    valid points for sure
  - fbdjskajxb 9y ago
    I don’t understand, how would AirBnB segmenting their marketing cause it to cost twice as much? Imagine AirBnB and the low cost company both exist as you imagine. Now suppose AirBnB buys the low cost company and doesn’t change their marketing at all. Of course marketing ROI for each of the two segments doesn’t change. Compare this to the case where AirBnB operates in the two segments without buying low cost company. How are these cases different?
fimdomeio 9y ago
I would say there's very little motivation for hosts to have cheaper rooms. These services make a bad reviews so high cost to the host that everyone just tries to make it 5 stars. That and in the in the bottom there's always normal long term house renting for very little effort.
- tspike 9y ago
  There are alternatives to a five star rating system. The old Couchsurfing site did this nicely with open ended feedback and a vouching system.
dageshi 9y ago
I think hotel booking sites are already moving into that market. Agoda has listings for whole property rental that previously would've only been found on Airbnb.
dlg 9y ago
The Overnight app is optimized for this use-case, among other things. (Disclaimer: I’m an investor, but because I think it fills a real need)
epanchin 9y ago
I agree there’s room for a lower end competitor. I used to rent out a room on Airbnb, it was a great experience. Both renting and staying I met cool people, as they were often keen to chat or hang out. And cheaper than a hotel, usually hostel prices. I never minded that staying in someone’s house would often mean a haphazardly tidied room with no available cupboard space. Fast forwards a few years and I rent out a spare room to a friend at below market price, well below Airbnb price. I can’t be bothered with the standard that people now expect, I hate the attitude of Airbnb (ie use instant book or get fcked), and I find myself feeling guilty at contributing to the short supply in housing. Nor have I stayed in an Airbnb for a couple of years, I’m back to hotels. It’s not cheaper (what are their fees even for?), and it’s usually a purposed Airbnb property, rather than someone’s home. It’s lost it’s magic.
- ghaff 9y ago
  The problem is that businesses initially built around genuinely amateur money-making on the side (Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, I'm sure many others) tend to attract professionals who often push many of the initial users out. And the higher volumes are more attractive for the businesses mediating the service so they don't have much incentive to really stop it. It does open up the opportunity for new entrants to come in that are like "X but in the old days." Though it's now harder with a big incumbent and the cycle will probably repeat again if they're successful.
  - user5994461 9y ago
    I'll agree with the previous post that renting a room or a flat on airbnb is a terrible experience. People really have crazy expectations and you need to be a professional hotel to handle it. I'm a firm believer that most hosts will stop renting after a few guests. The turnover must be high, only covered by the new supply of hosts following the hype. It will dry up eventually and mostly professional hotels will remain.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      I felt the same way about eBay back in the day. I quickly came to the conclusion that there were very few items I wanted to get rid of that were worth the hassle. The last time I had some camera equipment to get rid of I just sold it to Amazon. I'm sure I could have gotten more $$ through other channels but it was so hassle-free that it was worth it to me.

by Gys 9y ago

halfteatree 9y ago

If you look at the list of homes listed, I wouldn't say they are above hotel price at all.

m-watson 9y ago

That is definitely an interesting perspective and I would agree there are a lot of people who just want the lower cost and clean bed for a night. However, is this move to add functionality really moving Airbnb out of the low cost market? You can still find very inexpensive options (as long as there are hosts) on the website. Airbnb, I would say, is just expanding their market pool not limiting it.

KyleGalvin 9y ago

The extreme of the bottom end is couchsurfing.com which might chew into the niche you describe. There is still some room in the middle, but success isn't guaranteed in that sort of market.

akhunt1002 9y ago
I think transaction is important because it's explicit, and people are far likelier to respond. Couchsurfing is free, so the incentive is low, but the community is the most important part of it. I think combining community and transaction is a huge opportunity (I'm also biased :))

volkk 9y ago

i don't see how a whole new company can exist to fill in the gap of what airbnb's price slider filter can fix in 2 seconds

dazc 9y ago
From my experience relying on the slider means you miss a lot of options. For example, some hosts have huge differences in pricing depending on the length of stay. I have found weird results where it's been cheaper to rent for a month than for 2 weeks at the same property.
pen2l 9y ago
There's always room for improvement. You could have said the same about craiglists -- what's the need of airbnb, craigslist/couchsurf.com etc. already exists. I think grandparent post has a good point, I'm also one of the people looking for something cheaper, and most airbnb's are often out of my price range.
matte_black 9y ago
It’s not enough to have a slider, you also need to actively market to people looking for cheap places to stay in the first place, or they will never even think to use your precious slider. This splits AirBnBs marketing on two fronts: high end and low end. This either doubles their marketing cost or halves their marketing budget for each audience. Take your pick. A company focused on low cost listings only has to market to one audience, which results in significantly cheaper marketing cost, which means better profitability, which means longer staying power, which means eventually they own a large percentage of the low end market. Game Over.
- volkk 9y ago
  valid points for sure
- fbdjskajxb 9y ago
  I don’t understand, how would AirBnB segmenting their marketing cause it to cost twice as much? Imagine AirBnB and the low cost company both exist as you imagine. Now suppose AirBnB buys the low cost company and doesn’t change their marketing at all. Of course marketing ROI for each of the two segments doesn’t change. Compare this to the case where AirBnB operates in the two segments without buying low cost company. How are these cases different?

fimdomeio 9y ago

I would say there's very little motivation for hosts to have cheaper rooms. These services make a bad reviews so high cost to the host that everyone just tries to make it 5 stars. That and in the in the bottom there's always normal long term house renting for very little effort.

tspike 9y ago
There are alternatives to a five star rating system. The old Couchsurfing site did this nicely with open ended feedback and a vouching system.

dageshi 9y ago

I think hotel booking sites are already moving into that market. Agoda has listings for whole property rental that previously would've only been found on Airbnb.

dlg 9y ago

The Overnight app is optimized for this use-case, among other things. (Disclaimer: I’m an investor, but because I think it fills a real need)

epanchin 9y ago

I agree there’s room for a lower end competitor. I used to rent out a room on Airbnb, it was a great experience. Both renting and staying I met cool people, as they were often keen to chat or hang out. And cheaper than a hotel, usually hostel prices. I never minded that staying in someone’s house would often mean a haphazardly tidied room with no available cupboard space. Fast forwards a few years and I rent out a spare room to a friend at below market price, well below Airbnb price. I can’t be bothered with the standard that people now expect, I hate the attitude of Airbnb (ie use instant book or get fcked), and I find myself feeling guilty at contributing to the short supply in housing. Nor have I stayed in an Airbnb for a couple of years, I’m back to hotels. It’s not cheaper (what are their fees even for?), and it’s usually a purposed Airbnb property, rather than someone’s home. It’s lost it’s magic.

ghaff 9y ago
The problem is that businesses initially built around genuinely amateur money-making on the side (Airbnb, eBay, Etsy, I'm sure many others) tend to attract professionals who often push many of the initial users out. And the higher volumes are more attractive for the businesses mediating the service so they don't have much incentive to really stop it. It does open up the opportunity for new entrants to come in that are like "X but in the old days." Though it's now harder with a big incumbent and the cycle will probably repeat again if they're successful.
- user5994461 9y ago
  I'll agree with the previous post that renting a room or a flat on airbnb is a terrible experience. People really have crazy expectations and you need to be a professional hotel to handle it. I'm a firm believer that most hosts will stop renting after a few guests. The turnover must be high, only covered by the new supply of hosts following the hype. It will dry up eventually and mostly professional hotels will remain.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    I felt the same way about eBay back in the day. I quickly came to the conclusion that there were very few items I wanted to get rid of that were worth the hassle. The last time I had some camera equipment to get rid of I just sold it to Amazon. I'm sure I could have gotten more $$ through other channels but it was so hassle-free that it was worth it to me.