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It's pretty scary that a representative of a company who just put half a billion dollars into Lyft seems to have no idea why Lyft is popular with "millennials".
by habosa 12y ago
It's pretty scary that a representative of a company who just put half a billion dollars into Lyft seems to have no idea why Lyft is popular with "millennials".
The only reason people of my generation don't go everywhere in a private black Suburban is because it's expensive. The only reason they use Lyft Line and not Lyft is because it's cheap. If you could get a private black car for $0.01 less than a Lyft Line you'd have the most popular app on the app store.
It's the same with AirBnb. If you could stay at the downtown Mariott for $110 and an AirBnb was $120, AirBnb would be dead. It just happens that AirBnb offers lower prices than traditional hotels and much more capacity in certain locations. People don't say "I really want to go on vacation and share a home with a stranger, so I'll check out AirBnb". They say "oh shit the Westin is charging $300 a night because there is a conference in town, I'll stay in someone's guest bedroom for $100".
Sure, the social thing is nice sometimes. Most Lyft drivers I get are more interesting than the taxi drivers I used to get (or at least more relatable to me). But all of the startups the "millenials" have fallen in love with either offer exceptional convenience (which is really about valuing your time), better pricing, or both. That's really all it's about. We're part of the free market like everyone else and we like to get things cheaply.
- wmeredith 12y agoI'm glad someone else said it. This author's understanding of millennials is cringe-worthy. I couldn't get past the first couple paragraphs.
- lobster_johnson 12y agoI like AirBnb because I don't like most hotels. They are like airports; ugly, generic, a place for just passing through whose pretensions of courtesy and happiness are a thin veneer over crass commercialism. If I can find an apartment that is nicer than a hotel (they are not all nicer, of course) then I will gladly pay a premium for my own entrance, my own kitchen, my own fridge, etc. Having spoken to my friends about this, I know I'm not the only one. I'm not a millennial, though, but then I doubt that millennials are the ones propping up AirBnb?
- stevesearer 12y agoI'm planning a trip to Chicago for a conference this summer and have been browsing Airbnb to find something less expensive as hotels charge a premium during this large conference. I was surprised to find quite a few listings that are just as soulless if not more-so than most hotels. I am assuming these are not primary residences but units furnished primarily for use on Airbnb. Though because they are very close to the conference and a fair amount cheaper, I'll definitely still be staying at them.
- ritchiea 12y agoAgreed. Ride sharing is a faceless commodity and people will take the cheapest option. AirBnB is slightly different because sometimes the apartment is nicer than the hotel, or offers a full kitchen. Or is an entire house and you're planning a trip with a group of friends or family. The reasons go on and on. But the original comment's point about Lyft is spot on, it's a shame we have to derail that thread because of his misreading of Airbnb.
- xtrumanx 12y agoDon't be too scared about their apparent lack of awareness. I don't think it's because he has no idea. It's just corporate-speak like when folks talk about their product changing the world and all that. I'm sure internally they discuss their business more honestly but talking about their business being a social experience and being kind to the environment just makes a better blog post than "we're $x cheaper than our competitors thus we're the best".
- lsc 12y ago>Don't be too scared about their apparent lack of awareness. I don't think it's because he has no idea. It's just corporate-speak like when folks talk about their product changing the world and all that. I find this really weird, because it's more like a kind of cognitive dissonance than the straight forward kind of dishonesty that I can understand. every business person I have ever talked to or gotten advice from has always said that they don't buy on price, and they don't compete on price, and that doing so is very bad. However, if you observe their actions? it's actually about price, you know, for a comparable product, just like microeconomics would suggest. For me? It makes advice from business people seem a lot less useful; either they are straight up lying to me, or they aren't able to keep their own head straight.
- pbreit 12y agoYou do realize that the most valuable company in the world does not compete on price? Are the millennials all on Android junk?
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- rajacombinator 12y agoYou're partly wrong about both Lyft and AirBnB. Yes price is the most important factor for many, but there are other factors too. For Lyft, the fact that they aren't ethics/attitude-challenged is worth something to me. And I'm not a crunchy save-the-world type. It would take significantly more than a $0.01 discount - more than $1 - to persuade me to go back to using Uber. Also Lyft drivers tend to be friendlier. For AirBnB, I pretty much only buy on price. But there is a substantial segment of people who "don't like hotels" that like AirBnB. Most AirBnb listings aren't that competitive when it comes to price vs. hotels.
- prostoalex 12y agoFor a single traveler staying short-term - sure, in fact, I think there are plenty of markets where an AirBnB rental with cleaning fee will come out more expensive than hotel (which already has that factored into the price). For family travel with kids, the options before AirBnB were more limited - you either had to upgrade to a hotel suite, paying Ritz-Carlton level prices for a one-bedroom at Holiday Inn, or stay in "suite" hotels like Homewood or StayBridge that tend to be on the outskirts. Factor in some other amenities like full kitchen and en-suite washer+dryer, and AirBnB carved up a nice niche for the market that was not previously addressed.