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Uber is a better example. Airbnb is a different case in my view. Vacation rentals have been around for forever, and they were pretty terrible before Airbnb. Whe

Uber is a better example. Airbnb is a different case in my view. Vacation rentals have been around for forever, and they were pretty terrible before Airbnb. When I used VRBO back in 2006 or so, it wasn’t horrible but wasn’t amazing. And the market was fragmented and inefficient. Airbnb basically made it so easy to both rent out space and rent space from others that it grew the market very dramatically in a short period of time. So much so that it exposed a lot of problems that weren’t present before with a few hard-to-book vacation rentals here and there.

alkonaut 8y ago
Yes, the difference I think is that AirBnB has grown so big it actually changed neighborhoods and accomodation markets in a way we didn't see before. The question becomes the same as for Uber in some sense: once a single company professionally rents out all the flats in a highrise building, what makes them different from a hotel and why do they get to dodge expensive regulations and inspections that hotels need? Their business model is being an apartment hotel and not admitting it.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  But again, Airbnb doesn’t own or rent those units, or choose to put them on the market. Should they only allow a certain percentage of units in a particular building or neighborhood to be rented out? How is that fair to marginal apartment owner who also wants to rent their space out? I think Airbnb could do a better job of working with cities to ensure that negative externalities don’t poison the well. But I don’t hold them responsible for the tsunami of demand on both sides of this market. It seems pretty clear that people really, really want this, and I don’t think the right answer is “too bad, stay in an overpriced chain hotel”
  - alkonaut 8y ago
    AirBnB rents those units out if they have a nontrivial gain from it. That they merely provide the service doesn’t seem important. Same with Uber - doesn’t matter who owns th cars or whether they claim to not employ anyone. They are a large taxi operator and the drivers should have employee benefits (as was ruled in many places already).

alkonaut 8y ago

Yes, the difference I think is that AirBnB has grown so big it actually changed neighborhoods and accomodation markets in a way we didn't see before. The question becomes the same as for Uber in some sense: once a single company professionally rents out all the flats in a highrise building, what makes them different from a hotel and why do they get to dodge expensive regulations and inspections that hotels need? Their business model is being an apartment hotel and not admitting it.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
But again, Airbnb doesn’t own or rent those units, or choose to put them on the market. Should they only allow a certain percentage of units in a particular building or neighborhood to be rented out? How is that fair to marginal apartment owner who also wants to rent their space out? I think Airbnb could do a better job of working with cities to ensure that negative externalities don’t poison the well. But I don’t hold them responsible for the tsunami of demand on both sides of this market. It seems pretty clear that people really, really want this, and I don’t think the right answer is “too bad, stay in an overpriced chain hotel”
- alkonaut 8y ago
  AirBnB rents those units out if they have a nontrivial gain from it. That they merely provide the service doesn’t seem important. Same with Uber - doesn’t matter who owns th cars or whether they claim to not employ anyone. They are a large taxi operator and the drivers should have employee benefits (as was ruled in many places already).