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Ashton Kutcher Joins the Airbnb Team
- rs 15y agoCongrats to the Airbnb team!!
- rs 15y agoCongrats to the Airbnb team!!
- muppetman 15y agoBut there's no bubble.
- btipling 15y agoAirbnb has a solid business model.
- citricsquid 15y agoI lost respect for Ashton after the thing a few days ago where he released the "Aplusk twitter app" with the tag line "...my latest creation..." and it's just another app rebranded. Seems he's just selling his name now.
- jdunck 15y agoWhich app?
- shazow 15y agoI think citricsquid is referring to this: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/23/ashton-kutcher-twitter-app/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/23/ashton-kutcher-twitter-app/
- jarin 15y agoDonald Trump does that all the time with properties, this is just the Internet version of that.
- ojbyrne 15y agoWho has respect for Donald Trump?
- netcan 15y agoPeople who buy his books?
- jgershen 15y agoDonald Trump.
- chopsueyar 15y agoI have more respect for Donald Trump than Mark Cuban.
- jarin 15y agoIt used to be the other way around for me, until I saw him on Shark Tank (where he just came off as a huge bully).
- nikcub 15y agobeing an internet version of Donald Trump is not something I would aspire to
- btipling 15y agoMight have just been copy Demand Media wrote for him.
- workhorse 15y agoThis is funny on so many levels.
- jarin 15y agoI think it's weird how there hasn't been more press coverage of celebrities getting into business and tech. Ashton Kutcher, 50 Cent, Chamillionaire, and other actors and musicians could be a pretty big inspiration to a lot of the teenagers out there.
- chopsueyar 15y agoWhy is it weird? All the 'piracy' or lack of quality content has led to decreased profits through traditional movie and music products. Did you know 50 Cent publishes a series of ghostwritten fiction books available on Amazon.com(http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_browse-b_mrr_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3A50+cent%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&bbn=283155&keywords=50+cent&ie=UTF8&qid=1306415082&rnid=618072011 http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_browse... )? ..or his Twitter pump-and-dump for OTC penny stocks? These celebrities have a certain lifestyle to maintain and need to keep the cash-flow up.
- jarin 15y agoI saw and brought attention to his OTC "pump-and-dump". It turned out that he was an active investor in and advisor to the company (I think it was Gunnar Optiks) and it seemed to be mostly an honest mistake.
- chopsueyar 15y agomostly an honest mistake What percentage was dishonest?
- jarin 15y agoHe was trying to encourage people to buy stock in the company, but it did not appear that he was attempting to pump and dump the stock, and it did not appear that he was aware of the potentially illegal nature of what he was doing. Basically he was treating it just like he'd tweet and tell everyone about some new artist that signed to his label.
- InfinityX0 15y agoI wonder what kind of value Ashton could provide through simply tweeting about AirBnB once a week to his audience - whether or not he had one half decent thing to contribute tech wise. That seems like a real big benefit for AirBnB if he chose to do it, because his influence and reach is so huge, and there is no marketing cost for him to do so.
- robryan 15y agoEven more so, if he made a documentary, or even put some short youtube clips up off him staying at places listed on AirBnB.
- nhangen 15y agoHe made a wise move, and I think AirBnB rocks, but I wish the guy would just go away. He's not worthy.
- donniefitz2 15y agoIs this really a good thing? What does he offer?
- SandB0x 15y agoMillions of Twitter followers.
- wittman1984 15y agoAirbnb has done a great job already of promoting themselves (e.g., rent a country/village promotions) so I tend to think they know what they're doing. Kutcher could put his pad up there, get some of his famous friends to offer their places?
- tzs 15y agohttp://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2586460 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2586460
- andrewljohnson 15y agoI've heard good things about the Kutch from people I respect. This blog post is really bad poorly wrought though. I wonder how many different pens and motives went in to crafting this monument to celebrity PR garbage.
- BiffDaniels 15y agoI've been meaning to write about the absolutely horrible experience I had using AirBnB in San Francisco recently. It was a nightmare. The place was filthy (the pictures online were taken on their best day ever), the people were unfriendly, the room was small and dank- with no way to even lock the door. It was really, really bad. I suppose it would be worth a gamble if you have the means to change plans on a dime and pay for a last minute hotel- whatever the price. That's what I had to do. But then, those aren't the people AirBnB is catering to, right?
- guynamedloren 15y agoDefinitely an edge case, but I believe it is because of cases like this that AirBnB holds your payment until 24 hours after you've checked in. You were refunded, right?
- BiffDaniels 15y agoYes- the refund policies vary. This place had a liberal refund policy, so I got everything but the first night back. So, to be fair- not a big loss. It all turned out OK in the end for me, but I can't say I'm a big fan after the experience. I'm sure that there are plenty of great experiences others have had to counter balance my poor one, tho.
- swombat 15y agoWe found a place in Budapest for a stag do, via AirBNB, and it was great. Big, clean, well located, cheap, and the landlord was cool. So experiences definitely do vary. I'd certainly go back to AirBNB after this experience.
- dotBen 15y agoI guess I'm like Fred Wilson who said "Why would anyone want to rent someone's couch" - I'm probably out of touch or just mildly privileged. But the idea of sleeping on some stranger's couch doesn't appeal at all (plus the unknowns like cleanliness, security, etc)
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- guynamedloren 15y agoReally? Have you even looked at what Airbnb has to offer? http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20478 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20478 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/62627 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/62627 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21031 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21031 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/55179 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/55179 The list goes on and on. I'm willing to bet Kutcher would rather stay at a beautiful private mansion than a tourist-filled resort or hotel. Who else is going to spend $5000/night to stay at places like this other than the super rich?
- psykotic 15y agoI didn't see the contents of the comment you replied to before it was deleted. But anyway, I just wanted to note that there are plenty of hotel chains that rent out luxury villas in that quality and price range, although maybe not quite that size. As a random example I just checked out Banyan Tree's Koh Samui villas: http://www.banyantree.com/en/samui/villas/ http://www.banyantree.com/en/samui/villas/. The higher-end villas listed there would run over $3500 per night a few weeks from now, in June, which is nowhere near the Thai tourist season.
- rhygar 15y agoMeh. Are these for show, or do people actually book them? http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20478 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20478 (0 reviews, N/A response rate) http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/62627 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/62627 (0 reviews, N/A response rate) http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21031 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21031 (apparently the only customer has been AirBnb itself) http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/55179 http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/55179 (0 reviews, N/A response rate)
- guynamedloren 15y agoI think its just a matter of time. Airbnb is working on establishing itself as a major player in the travel industry, and they're not quite at the luxury villa stage yet. I imagine it takes a lot to win over the demographic who can afford these places, but you gotta start somewhere, right?
- kosei 15y agoHey now, I say if MC Hammer can promote good products (Flipboard), so can Ashton Kutcher.
- wtn 15y agoMC Hammer also promotes crap products, like 49ers WR Michael Crabtree.
- numair 15y agoSome of the comments here on HN about this are quite amusing, especially since many of the people who poo-poo Ashton's involvement in tech have no issues with a normal VC investment in a company. How is Ashton any more annoying than the concept of some random dude thinking he knows whether or not your idea will fly, simply because he was entrusted with tens (if not hundreds, or even thousands!) of millions dollars' worth of capital from pensions, wealthy people, and others? He's just another guy with money, no different from any of the rest -- except he has massive visibility, and his public image means he is less likely to pull some of the inane shit I've seen many "respected" Valley investors pull on my friends (which, by the way, never gets called out, as they are the ones who are the "sources" leaking things to scoop-hungry newspapers and blogs). I know the drama kids didn't sit with the computer club kids at the high school lunch table, but really... guys, stop being a bunch of haters.
- ignifero 15y agoI think it's because he has no expertise on technology, can give you zero advice, will actually probably give you the wrong advice, cannot help you with your scaling or implementation issues, cannot refer you to the right technical people when you need it. The one thing that silicon valley has that none of us in the rest of the world have is a vibrant network of like minded, able and willing to help people. It's perfectly ok to invest, but I guess that doesn't make you part of the silicon valley. Plus it's the old nerds/jocks war.
- joss82 15y agoAirbnb does not need technical advice right now. What they want is cheap publicity, and it's exactly what they're getting with the actor.
- ericd 15y agoIt's a serious and common mistake to think that the majority of the challenges faced by a startup are technical, especially in a consumer facing startup. More than half the battle is getting people to know about your product, and AK knows marketing and promotion well.
- ThomPete 15y agoWith the amount of followers Ashton have and the demographics of those followers a tweet alone could make it all worth it. Airbnb is successful but still need much more traction. I think this will help them.
- h6165 15y agoMakes me jealous as a techie in India, where our rich and famous show very little interest in startups. Congratulations and good luck to AirBnb.
- leon_ 15y agoMakes me jealous as a techie in Germany, where our rich and famous show very little interest in startups. ;) I guess California is just a notable exception to the rule.
- rhygar 15y ago"Like Planet Hollywood and Flooz.com, MVP.com proved that celebrity endorsements are worth nothing in the long run." via "Top 10 dot-com flops": http://www.cnet.com/1990-11136_1-6278387-1.html http://www.cnet.com/1990-11136_1-6278387-1.html
- mkramlich 15y agoI'm calling it now: within a year there'll be a romantic comedy movie out called Airbnb (or equiv), starring Ashton, and involving, well, you can guess. Not only will it make for a great gimmick to hang that kind of movie around, but it would be massive "free" advertising for the company's service. This and his Twitter following are the obvious, most likely wins for Airbnb.
- chopsueyar 15y agoSponsored celebrity tweets can be obtained for a fairly reasonable fee.
- bambax 15y agoI guess it's good news if it means less movies starring him... Did you see Killers? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103153/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103153/ I did, and I'm sorry. There was a great piece about Ashton and Demi by Fake Steeve Jobs; here it is: http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/10/i-just-had-weirdest-meeting-with-ashton.html http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/10/i-just-had-weirdest-meeting... That said I'm sure he's a really nice guy and all; but why would startups need celebrities? Having actors endorse your products in ads is one thing; having them hang around in the office is another... Isn't that a little distracting?
- pavel_lishin 15y agoI didn't get the impression that he would actually be in the office all of the time.
- chrischen 15y agoSo if I list my place on Airbnb, is there a chance Ashton will come crash on my couch? Because that would be a great marketing gimmick.
- OoTheNigerian 15y agoI think you guys are being unnecessarily hard on Kutcher. It is a flawed assumption that being a celebrity (sportsman, musician) means you have no additional value. There are medical doctors than when on to play football (the real one); Nigeria has a Cornell Physics PhD candidate that does rap. etc. Why do you guys (critics) believe you can add better value to AirBnB than Aston. I believe celebrities need to do a little bit extra to show they are more than what is seen on TV. So take a moment to stop beefing and say Congrats AirBnB for a nice coup.
- chopsueyar 15y agoIt isn't that he is a celebrity, it is that he is Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso). This isn't Natalie Portman we are talking about.... or even Dolph Lundgren: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren#Education http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren#Education
- lurker14 15y agoMichael Kelso is a fictional character.
- hbrouwer 15y agoAshton who?
- abbasmehdi 15y agoOne word: Publicity. He will help them reach new audiences, and his audience is their target demographic.
- mtw 15y agoI hope they have a plan to get a good director and good scripts
- siglesias 15y agoHere's his value add: Ashton's going to show that the service is so trustworthy that he'll start using it himself. You can't get that anywhere else.
- lwhi 15y agoI think this used to be called celebrity endorsement.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoI remember when companies would pay celebrities to endorse them, not vice-versa.
- lwhi 15y agoThat was before companies became vehicles for multiplying money ;)
- pavel_lishin 15y agoThis reminds me of a random shower thought I had - we are living in an age of modern alchemy.
- lwhi 15y agoAKA - another bubble :P
- lurker14 15y agoValleywag's take on Ashton and Demi: http://gawker.com/5793552/ashton-and-demi-are-the-horsemen-of-the-tech-apocalypse?tag=valleywag http://gawker.com/5793552/ashton-and-demi-are-the-horsemen-o...
- ia 15y agothe press release (read: blog post) was nauseating in its saccharine bullshit, but hners aren't the target audience... it was written for the legions of ak fans who know ak but not airbnb.