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One of the reasons Airbnb is cheaper than hotels is that fraud and safety costs are passed on to guests and hosts. This is part of the business model. Once you
by jzwinck 7y ago
One of the reasons Airbnb is cheaper than hotels is that fraud and safety costs are passed on to guests and hosts. This is part of the business model. Once you build all the protections people want, you may find yourself at the same prices hotels were charging, and that's not very unicorn.
- onemoresoop 7y agoAlso, like all new unicorn companies, they are doing business in an unregulated market. The wild west won’t last thats why they’re in the make as much money as fast as you can mode.
- paulgb 7y agoThey're also cheaper than hotels because they allow people to exploit inventory that was otherwise sitting vacant. I agree that it's basically a form of regulatory arbitrage, but I'd argue that adding protections (as they already do for the property owners) is part of their competitive moat.
- briandear 7y agoBut a lot of people are ok with slightly increased risk for lower prices overall. When you need a sure thing, book a hotel.