4 ms·

> At what point does a company become pervasive enough in everyday life I can see someone making the "they're effectively a utility" argument for GMail (or oth

> At what point does a company become pervasive enough in everyday life I can see someone making the "they're effectively a utility" argument for GMail (or other mail providers), maybe Facebook in a stretch, but AirBnb?

josephcsible 4y ago
Is whether they resemble a traditional utility the right question to ask? Wouldn't a better question be how disruptive it is for a banned individual to replace the company in question with a competitor?
enos_feedler 4y ago
Some people let their lease expire and rent airbnbs month to month as their primary housing.
- EduardoBautista 4y ago
  Well, they should probably not let their lease expire.
  - enos_feedler 4y ago
thih9 4y ago
Perhaps this is a problem of becoming a large intermediary? I.e. a lot of properties are exclusively available on AirBnb. A random incident with one of them may mean that you now have no way to reach the rest, even though the rest may be unrelated to the incident and might want to offer you their services.
- gnopgnip 4y ago
  Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb. Many hosts cross list on VRBO, homeaway, booking, expedia.
  - activitypea 4y ago
    In my corner of the world, it seems to be a split: few rural properties are on airbnb, and few urban properties are anywhere besides airbnb. If you don't have an airbnb account good luck finding decent accommodation in the capital.
  - thih9 4y ago
    > Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb. Source? Also, even if that was the case, when the scale is that big, the problem might not be gone. E.g.: - Some cities might have more of the exclusive listings than others. - Exclusive listings might share some common traits; some people might be interested in booking these places only. - etc
  - laundermaf 4y ago
    > Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb I don't know where you live, but the "cross-listing" I see here is on Facebook, and that's next to useless compared to Airbnb’s ease of use. In places with few Airbnb listings, that means spending hours on Facebook Marketplaces and Groups combing through crap posts.
Dylan16807 4y ago
Well the article didn't say anything about utilities. I would like a threshold for companies to have a better and appealable banning process that is much smaller than that. Let's say 10 million active users as a rough example.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  I think it should vary by market share. Maybe something like 10% would be reasonable limit. Or maybe top 5 if very fractured market.
morelisp 4y ago
Unfortunately these "your property as a service" startups have been permitted to grow for long enough that there are both buyers and sellers for whom it's an entire lifestyle. (It's totally a cultural bubble, but a pretty thick one and one that overlaps a lot with HN.)

josephcsible 4y ago

Is whether they resemble a traditional utility the right question to ask? Wouldn't a better question be how disruptive it is for a banned individual to replace the company in question with a competitor?

enos_feedler 4y ago

Some people let their lease expire and rent airbnbs month to month as their primary housing.

EduardoBautista 4y ago
Well, they should probably not let their lease expire.
- enos_feedler 4y ago

thih9 4y ago

Perhaps this is a problem of becoming a large intermediary? I.e. a lot of properties are exclusively available on AirBnb. A random incident with one of them may mean that you now have no way to reach the rest, even though the rest may be unrelated to the incident and might want to offer you their services.

gnopgnip 4y ago
Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb. Many hosts cross list on VRBO, homeaway, booking, expedia.
- activitypea 4y ago
  In my corner of the world, it seems to be a split: few rural properties are on airbnb, and few urban properties are anywhere besides airbnb. If you don't have an airbnb account good luck finding decent accommodation in the capital.
- thih9 4y ago
  > Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb. Source? Also, even if that was the case, when the scale is that big, the problem might not be gone. E.g.: - Some cities might have more of the exclusive listings than others. - Exclusive listings might share some common traits; some people might be interested in booking these places only. - etc
- laundermaf 4y ago
  > Only a fraction of properties are exclusively on airbnb I don't know where you live, but the "cross-listing" I see here is on Facebook, and that's next to useless compared to Airbnb’s ease of use. In places with few Airbnb listings, that means spending hours on Facebook Marketplaces and Groups combing through crap posts.

Dylan16807 4y ago

Well the article didn't say anything about utilities. I would like a threshold for companies to have a better and appealable banning process that is much smaller than that. Let's say 10 million active users as a rough example.

Ekaros 4y ago
I think it should vary by market share. Maybe something like 10% would be reasonable limit. Or maybe top 5 if very fractured market.

morelisp 4y ago

Unfortunately these "your property as a service" startups have been permitted to grow for long enough that there are both buyers and sellers for whom it's an entire lifestyle. (It's totally a cultural bubble, but a pretty thick one and one that overlaps a lot with HN.)