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Hotels
There were few surprises in Airbnb's roadshow presentation. It was high on optics and spin, and could have been much more substantive.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 3 years ago
The entire hospitality industry would agree that short-term rentals led the tentative recovery in the spring and into the summer in many parts of the world. But a key question will be how will they respond when hotels and cities come back in earnest — and with vaccines a real possibility, they certainly will.
This system malfunction will hardly be a footnote in Airbnb's history, but the timing sucked for the IPO hopeful.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 4 years ago
This lawsuit on behalf of hosts will do little to deter Airbnb's proposed initial public offering. Although it will generate negative headlines, large companies like Airbnb often treat class action lawsuits as the price of doing business.
Wild house parties are certainly not in the interests of short-term rental platforms because of the brand hits and potential liability. Airbnb's limited steps won't end the problem, but it may reduce the volume — in more ways than one.
It's a good idea that Brian Chesky is now doing weekly videos with hosts. It would be more effective — but admittedly riskier — if he took live questions. It will be a long process to rebuild trust from hosts because so many feel burned by the company's coronavirus refund policy.
Coronavirus
Cleanliness standards will guide guest preferences in the years ahead. Short-term rental host practices will have to undergo significant enhancements to cope with that changing consumer behavior — a heightened sensitivity to just how clean their surroundings are as an outgrowth of the coronavirus pandemic.
Many Airbnb hosts of the mom-and-pop variety — yes, there are a few left — feel aggrieved when they welcome guests into their homes and have to bear the consequences of hostile reviews penned with the worst intentions. Airbnb is trying to tip the balance back toward hosts — and is probably making neither party totally happy.
Short-Term Rentals
Airbnb has avoided these policies under the guise of being just a platform, much like the rest of the tech platform companies. We just hope at some point that tragedies are not the only way to propel change that lots of stakeholders have been asking for all along.
Andrew Sheivachman, Skift | 5 years ago
House parties and out-of-control guests are the scourge of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms. The industry has to fix this — fast.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 5 years ago
