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By this thinking, does Airbnb then also measure the entire cost of the listing as revenue? I don't know much about accounting or finance, but this seems a littl

• smt88 12y ago
  In my mind, Airbnb is a marketplace and Uber is a service provider. The distinction is mostly arbitrary and driven by marketing/perception, though.
  • arjunnarayan 12y ago
    I agree, but I think the distinction is not arbitrary. The kicker is that you pick the Airbnb provider individually, based on individual house/room profiles. You don't say "give me a room in Seattle on this date, any room". Whereas with Uber you say "bring me a car now to this location, any car". You don't browse through car providers and say "ok, I'll specifically take the blue Lexus, and only the blue Lexus".
• steven2012 12y ago
  Airbnb is likely more like Groupon, because when you deal pretty directly with the owner of the property, whereas when you get a Uber ride, they are known as an "Uber driver". The owners of the properties do not purport to be agents of AirBNB. But the case could be made either way, and it's up to the auditors to determine which is more appropriate, since they have direct access to the financials, etc.