First thought: AirBnB didnt really innovate. There was VRBO before it. They somehow got traction through a slightly better platform and more marketing/word-of-m

First thought: AirBnB didnt really innovate. There was VRBO before it. They somehow got traction through a slightly better platform and more marketing/word-of-mouth. They built a better mousetrap. Second thought: AirBnB is a marketplace. You have sellers and buyers meeting in a tech-enabled environment with rail guards in place to protect the customer experience (reviews + payment middleman + etc..) As a recent home purchaser, I totally agree the process needs a revamp. But how does that happen when you're still boasting 10s of 1000s of brokers on your platform. The middleman is still there.