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Didn't AirBnB just take out a huge loan on less-than-stellar terms? https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/15/airbnb-ups-its-debt-by-1bn-amid-the-coronavirus-travel-cr

Didn't AirBnB just take out a huge loan on less-than-stellar terms? https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/15/airbnb-ups-its-debt-by-1bn-amid-the-coronavirus-travel-crunch/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/15/airbnb-ups-its-debt-by-1bn... Not to mention how the company is getting hammered by the coronavirus, in addition to having to face the reality of having used shady tactics to prop up positive reviews over the years. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k7z3/nationwide-fake-host-scam-on-airbnb https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k7z3/nationwide-fake-ho... This sounds like they're trying to cash out while they still can with the expectation of it going further south over time.

chasd00 6y ago
personally i really like AirBnB as a product but if they're planning to just cash out i suppose now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Once the pandemic ends there will be huge surge in demand and the stock price will go up at least temporarily. Maybe the surge will last long enough for everyone who's planning to cash out to do so.
tempsy 6y ago
well they need capital regardless of whether they dump stock - but the lockup period could be painful if Covid persists 6+ months down the line post IPO. Or negative regulatory action.
thehoff 6y ago
Is it getting hammered though? Genuine question. Anecdata: Reason I ask is that we did a trip a few weeks ago and for us, hotels were out of the question. Never used Airbnb before but did this time to get smaller places to ourselves. As I was looking it was tough to get everything lined up as many places were booked up. Some really great looking places were practically booked up for the next several months. Wasn't sure if this was the norm or if many others are doing the same.
- personlurking 6y ago
  I recently checked Airdna stats for my (capital) city and it said Airbnb occupancy was down 80% since March, with an uptick since mid-May, leading it to be down 60% currently (meaning it improved by 20% from its -80% level).
- Element_ 6y ago
  From my observations bookings are healthy in recreational areas like Colorado, but still non-existent in urban city centers... not sure how that breaks down in terms of revenue for them.
tristanb 6y ago
I work for a company in this space - and I would say this sector made a pretty strong recovery, so I would not say they are getting "hammered".
geronb 6y ago
I'm an employee and Airbnb is actually doing very well right now. People have been taking a lot of trips to less dense areas as nearby getaways. https://www.financial-world.org/news/news/business/6074/california-vacation-rental-airbnb-bookings-pick-up-cross-one-million-on-a-single-day/ https://www.financial-world.org/news/news/business/6074/cali... Same for VRBO, which is also doing very well.
- CaptainZapp 6y ago
  That must be the reason why they fired 25% of their workforce.
  - geronb 6y ago
    Layoffs happened when bookings tanked when the pandemic began (February and March). The recovery happened in the later stage of the pandemic, in May and later. Nobody expected this internally or externally and it's alright if you are skeptical. The official numbers will be made public pretty soon anyway.
geronb 6y ago
What do you mean by "shady tactics to prop up positive reviews over the years"? I'm an employee and we have very strict policies around review fairness. If anything, most review-related complaints come from hosts who want to have negative reviews removed due to perceived unfairness. By policy, negative reviews are rarely if ever removed this way much to the chagrin of hosts. Reviews are usually ranked chronologically, but in some cases there may be sorted by predicted relevancy ranking based on review length and language.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- jkinudsjknds 6y ago
  They posted a link describing what they mean.
- Judgmentality 6y ago
  You could read the link I attached to my comment. I've personally experienced problems with reviews before where negative reviews never showed up, and have stopped using AirBnB as a result. I also know this is an extremely well-known problem, and if you aren't aware of it it's because you haven't looked for it (a few minutes on Google is all it takes).
  - dannyw 6y ago
    One of my friends found a hidden camera in the bedroom, in an Airbnb "superhost" overseas (around 2018). Despite providing a police report to Airbnb and getting a full refund, the listing was never taken down, the Superhost status was still there, and somehow the review she left was deleted. I think it's pretty shameful and wish she went to the media about it.
- smokey_the_bear 6y ago
  I stayed in an AirBnB in Houston in the summer with broken AC. I left before the first night and was not refunded a cent. My review is buried on the page. It wasn't on top when I wrote it, and the stars weren't displayed, just the text. I deleted my AirBnB account.

chasd00 6y ago

personally i really like AirBnB as a product but if they're planning to just cash out i suppose now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Once the pandemic ends there will be huge surge in demand and the stock price will go up at least temporarily. Maybe the surge will last long enough for everyone who's planning to cash out to do so.

tempsy 6y ago

well they need capital regardless of whether they dump stock - but the lockup period could be painful if Covid persists 6+ months down the line post IPO. Or negative regulatory action.

thehoff 6y ago

Is it getting hammered though? Genuine question. Anecdata: Reason I ask is that we did a trip a few weeks ago and for us, hotels were out of the question. Never used Airbnb before but did this time to get smaller places to ourselves. As I was looking it was tough to get everything lined up as many places were booked up. Some really great looking places were practically booked up for the next several months. Wasn't sure if this was the norm or if many others are doing the same.

personlurking 6y ago
I recently checked Airdna stats for my (capital) city and it said Airbnb occupancy was down 80% since March, with an uptick since mid-May, leading it to be down 60% currently (meaning it improved by 20% from its -80% level).
Element_ 6y ago
From my observations bookings are healthy in recreational areas like Colorado, but still non-existent in urban city centers... not sure how that breaks down in terms of revenue for them.

tristanb 6y ago

I work for a company in this space - and I would say this sector made a pretty strong recovery, so I would not say they are getting "hammered".

geronb 6y ago

I'm an employee and Airbnb is actually doing very well right now. People have been taking a lot of trips to less dense areas as nearby getaways. https://www.financial-world.org/news/news/business/6074/california-vacation-rental-airbnb-bookings-pick-up-cross-one-million-on-a-single-day/ https://www.financial-world.org/news/news/business/6074/cali... Same for VRBO, which is also doing very well.

CaptainZapp 6y ago
That must be the reason why they fired 25% of their workforce.
- geronb 6y ago
  Layoffs happened when bookings tanked when the pandemic began (February and March). The recovery happened in the later stage of the pandemic, in May and later. Nobody expected this internally or externally and it's alright if you are skeptical. The official numbers will be made public pretty soon anyway.

geronb 6y ago

What do you mean by "shady tactics to prop up positive reviews over the years"? I'm an employee and we have very strict policies around review fairness. If anything, most review-related complaints come from hosts who want to have negative reviews removed due to perceived unfairness. By policy, negative reviews are rarely if ever removed this way much to the chagrin of hosts. Reviews are usually ranked chronologically, but in some cases there may be sorted by predicted relevancy ranking based on review length and language.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
jkinudsjknds 6y ago
They posted a link describing what they mean.
Judgmentality 6y ago
You could read the link I attached to my comment. I've personally experienced problems with reviews before where negative reviews never showed up, and have stopped using AirBnB as a result. I also know this is an extremely well-known problem, and if you aren't aware of it it's because you haven't looked for it (a few minutes on Google is all it takes).
- dannyw 6y ago
  One of my friends found a hidden camera in the bedroom, in an Airbnb "superhost" overseas (around 2018). Despite providing a police report to Airbnb and getting a full refund, the listing was never taken down, the Superhost status was still there, and somehow the review she left was deleted. I think it's pretty shameful and wish she went to the media about it.
smokey_the_bear 6y ago
I stayed in an AirBnB in Houston in the summer with broken AC. I left before the first night and was not refunded a cent. My review is buried on the page. It wasn't on top when I wrote it, and the stars weren't displayed, just the text. I deleted my AirBnB account.