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"Hotel prices often fluctuate wildly -- a room may cost $59 one week and then a few weeks later cost $299 because a trade show is in town, etc." You don't thin

"Hotel prices often fluctuate wildly -- a room may cost $59 one week and then a few weeks later cost $299 because a trade show is in town, etc." You don't think this will happen with AirBnb, similar to "surge pricing" with Uber? Continuing with supply & demand, at times of great demand, prices will rise no matter if it's a hotel or AirBnb, even if there is a great deal more supply, there will always be huge bursts of demand (trade shows, what-have-you). AirBnb would seem to flesh out the low-to-mid-range end of the market. If money isn't an object, there are places to stay in NYC (I think--I'm not at that level, myself!). But if you're looking to stay in NYC comfortably for fairly cheap, AirBnb exists with offerings that fit that, albeit they may be illegal (right now). I just question whether that market is "worth" more than the major chains (based on valuations, which I know is a shaky number to use).

netcan 12y ago
Regarding low-mid range, This isn't my experience at all. My experience is that for certain types of travel (eg, meeting friends for a weekend in some fun city) and AirBnB apartment is more fun, IE higher quality than any normal hotel option. Obviously if you compare a midrange apartment to a rockstar suite in a 5 star hotel AirBnB doesn't win but for most fair comparison I value the apartment more than the hotel. Which is better is a matter of taste, I suppose. A lot of people love hotels. I don't. But, for the price ranges that cover 80% of rooms in most cities, I think it's hard to claim that AirBnB is only better value at the lower tiers. There are some awesome places at the 'sold my company to google' price ranges.
- grandalf 12y ago
  Excellent point. I too prefer staying in someone's comfortable home over a hotel room. Other than at very high end hotels, there are frequently little annoyances (air conditioning cranked up, noisy fans, noisy housekeeping in the morning, excessive use of insecticides, low quality mattresses, small or nonexistent refrigerator, no kitchen, etc.) that detract from the experience.
grandalf 12y ago
I think you misunderstand the mechanics going on with surge pricing. In SF on new year's eve, getting a yellow cab can take up to an hour (or more). One year it took me nearly two hours to get a cab to go home. There is way more demand than supply so there is a huge queue. With Uber's surge pricing, the price simply goes up to help supply meet demand. You can book an uber at 2x or 5x surge pricing and count on it showing up a few minutes later, and count on getting home at a reasonable time. The best part, however, is that it's in Uber's best interest to have surge pricing happen rarely. Nonetheless, it's a great way to attract new drivers. Want to make $500 on New Year's eve, sign up to be an uber driver and drive from 12:30 to 3am and benefit from surge pricing. This opens up a larger pool of drivers, which in turn increases supply and reduces the price. There are certainly price fluctuations with AirBnB too, however increased supply makes the spike less pronounced.

netcan 12y ago

Regarding low-mid range, This isn't my experience at all. My experience is that for certain types of travel (eg, meeting friends for a weekend in some fun city) and AirBnB apartment is more fun, IE higher quality than any normal hotel option. Obviously if you compare a midrange apartment to a rockstar suite in a 5 star hotel AirBnB doesn't win but for most fair comparison I value the apartment more than the hotel. Which is better is a matter of taste, I suppose. A lot of people love hotels. I don't. But, for the price ranges that cover 80% of rooms in most cities, I think it's hard to claim that AirBnB is only better value at the lower tiers. There are some awesome places at the 'sold my company to google' price ranges.

grandalf 12y ago
Excellent point. I too prefer staying in someone's comfortable home over a hotel room. Other than at very high end hotels, there are frequently little annoyances (air conditioning cranked up, noisy fans, noisy housekeeping in the morning, excessive use of insecticides, low quality mattresses, small or nonexistent refrigerator, no kitchen, etc.) that detract from the experience.

grandalf 12y ago

I think you misunderstand the mechanics going on with surge pricing. In SF on new year's eve, getting a yellow cab can take up to an hour (or more). One year it took me nearly two hours to get a cab to go home. There is way more demand than supply so there is a huge queue. With Uber's surge pricing, the price simply goes up to help supply meet demand. You can book an uber at 2x or 5x surge pricing and count on it showing up a few minutes later, and count on getting home at a reasonable time. The best part, however, is that it's in Uber's best interest to have surge pricing happen rarely. Nonetheless, it's a great way to attract new drivers. Want to make $500 on New Year's eve, sign up to be an uber driver and drive from 12:30 to 3am and benefit from surge pricing. This opens up a larger pool of drivers, which in turn increases supply and reduces the price. There are certainly price fluctuations with AirBnB too, however increased supply makes the spike less pronounced.