4 ms·

AirBnB has a super core problem: hosts are in short supply. This leads the entire service to see guests as a secondary concern. This leads to a pretty obvious p

AirBnB has a super core problem: hosts are in short supply. This leads the entire service to see guests as a secondary concern. This leads to a pretty obvious problem: opaque pricing, poor customer service (never trust me, check trustpilot), and probably a serious problem for AirBnB: a resurgence of the vertically integrated hotel chain.

aliqot 4y ago
Tell me the price, make the host and tennant have a singular universal set of expectations. It's not hard. Holiday Inn Express has been getting my business lately. Everything is labeled, no wild sudden items after checkin like "don't forget to put the back door mat on the balcony railing so the racoons don't run off with it". Everything that made AirBNB cool at first eventually made it bad inevitably. Glad to have made friends with hosts along the way before it went sour.
dicomdan 4y ago
Lack of housing supply is the root cause.
rr888 4y ago
I have two friends that had AirBnB rentals, they've both given up. The initial novelty and fun quickly wore off and became a grind. The local LLC with 10+ properties will stay the norm now I think.
- LegitShady 4y ago
  I think if you have an LLC booking hotel rooms and its not an individual booking out rooms, they need to comply with all building codes and regulations for hotels.
- naravara 4y ago
  I wonder how much of this is just people being bigger jerks now than before. Just anecdotally service workers and small business owners in general seem to complain about a major shift in norms towards customers more often being abusive or even vindictive towards them.
mtw 4y ago
Airbnb doesn’t have a hosts supply issue. Actually in the past 3 years, hosts growth outpace guests growth The issue is Airbnb attracted recently a lot of get-rich-quick types, similar to what see for Amazon sellers or crypto bros. We are far from the savvy host who want to share travel experiences and give you a unique experience
- seydor 4y ago
  > the savvy host who want to share travel experiences and give you a unique experience Do people actually want this? I d rather not meet anyone when i m using the home, it's just lodging that s less restrictive than a hotel.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    It depends. I've stayed at many regular B&Bs over the years and many hosts try to make you feel at home. And, generally speaking, they're a more distinct experience than a business hotel is--though when traveling on business I tend to go with the hotel for predictability, 24 hour desk, etc.
- pyb 4y ago
  If there is no supply problem, why have prices shot up ~30-50% in 4 years ? (Source : I am trying to book an Airbnb in London after a few years away from the platform)
  - mym1990 4y ago
    Prices have shot up 30-50% on a lot of things in the past 4 years(and mostly just the past 2) due to inflation. Real estate markets in most places have skyrocketed, so how would you figure real estate to go up but short term rental prices to stay low?
    - pyb 4y ago
      It seems that rents have gone up much less than that where I'm looking...
whakim 4y ago
Yeah, this is basically the true problem. Airbnb doesn't care about guests at all (they recently refused to refund a stay I had booked even though the place I was visiting was experiencing a literal natural disaster, and then deleted my negative review about extremely unpleasant interactions with the host). I agree that most people want a much more consistent and much less opaque user experience - the trick is how someone will be able to marry that with the sheer variety of places you can stay in on Airbnb.
npteljes 4y ago
Hosts often also get the short end of the stick, and get the similarly non-existent recourse opportunities. The issue is not with either - it's the way AirBnB does its business. Hotels began to seem attractive again also because vacationers don't want to risk their precious time and money. Hotels at least have experience, and the regulators up their ass.

aliqot 4y ago

Tell me the price, make the host and tennant have a singular universal set of expectations. It's not hard. Holiday Inn Express has been getting my business lately. Everything is labeled, no wild sudden items after checkin like "don't forget to put the back door mat on the balcony railing so the racoons don't run off with it". Everything that made AirBNB cool at first eventually made it bad inevitably. Glad to have made friends with hosts along the way before it went sour.

dicomdan 4y ago

Lack of housing supply is the root cause.

rr888 4y ago

I have two friends that had AirBnB rentals, they've both given up. The initial novelty and fun quickly wore off and became a grind. The local LLC with 10+ properties will stay the norm now I think.

LegitShady 4y ago
I think if you have an LLC booking hotel rooms and its not an individual booking out rooms, they need to comply with all building codes and regulations for hotels.
naravara 4y ago
I wonder how much of this is just people being bigger jerks now than before. Just anecdotally service workers and small business owners in general seem to complain about a major shift in norms towards customers more often being abusive or even vindictive towards them.

mtw 4y ago

Airbnb doesn’t have a hosts supply issue. Actually in the past 3 years, hosts growth outpace guests growth The issue is Airbnb attracted recently a lot of get-rich-quick types, similar to what see for Amazon sellers or crypto bros. We are far from the savvy host who want to share travel experiences and give you a unique experience

seydor 4y ago
> the savvy host who want to share travel experiences and give you a unique experience Do people actually want this? I d rather not meet anyone when i m using the home, it's just lodging that s less restrictive than a hotel.
- ghaff 4y ago
  It depends. I've stayed at many regular B&Bs over the years and many hosts try to make you feel at home. And, generally speaking, they're a more distinct experience than a business hotel is--though when traveling on business I tend to go with the hotel for predictability, 24 hour desk, etc.
pyb 4y ago
If there is no supply problem, why have prices shot up ~30-50% in 4 years ? (Source : I am trying to book an Airbnb in London after a few years away from the platform)
- mym1990 4y ago
  Prices have shot up 30-50% on a lot of things in the past 4 years(and mostly just the past 2) due to inflation. Real estate markets in most places have skyrocketed, so how would you figure real estate to go up but short term rental prices to stay low?
  - pyb 4y ago
    It seems that rents have gone up much less than that where I'm looking...

whakim 4y ago

Yeah, this is basically the true problem. Airbnb doesn't care about guests at all (they recently refused to refund a stay I had booked even though the place I was visiting was experiencing a literal natural disaster, and then deleted my negative review about extremely unpleasant interactions with the host). I agree that most people want a much more consistent and much less opaque user experience - the trick is how someone will be able to marry that with the sheer variety of places you can stay in on Airbnb.

npteljes 4y ago

Hosts often also get the short end of the stick, and get the similarly non-existent recourse opportunities. The issue is not with either - it's the way AirBnB does its business. Hotels began to seem attractive again also because vacationers don't want to risk their precious time and money. Hotels at least have experience, and the regulators up their ass.