4 ms·
More likely this is a version of the "Eternal September" problem. Early adopters of Airbnb were more likely to be "true believers" of the idealized vision of a
by strgcmc 6y ago
More likely this is a version of the "Eternal September" problem. Early adopters of Airbnb were more likely to be "true believers" of the idealized vision of a kind/generous host matched with adventurous/courteous guests, but this vision gets diluted over time as the userbase grows. Once Airbnb reached true ubiquity, the general user population is just looking for a good deal and isn't nearly as savvy or as committed to the original ideals; this applies to both hosts and guests, of course.
It's impossible to scale a platform to 10s/100s/1000s millions without finding an ever-lowering lowest common denominator.
- noirbot 6y agoI think the interesting thing now is that, at least personally, I'm willing to pay hotel-level rates to stay at somewhere run by one of those "true believers". I know one of the things I look for is someone who's got a lot of reviews/a long history, but also seems to be renting just one space (or multiple rooms in the same house). I'm not looking for a deal - if I wanted to be cheap and central and social, I'd stay at a hostel. I'm totally willing to pay a bit more to stay somewhere with a host that cares.
- Cyclone_ 6y agoYes, this is very true.