Ask HN: Is anyone else bearish on the future of Airbnb?

16 points by kashnote 3y ago ↗ HN

I used to love Airbnb and went out of my way to book through them whenever possible. Over the years, the quality of the places, the experiences, and overall value dropped significantly for me (not to mention the prices skyrocketing). So, I exclusively booked hotels for about 2 years — until today.

And… same experience. I paid more than I would for a hotel in hopes of getting a unique experience, but ended up getting broken furniture, an unresponsive host, unclean sheets, and other minor inconveniences.

Does anyone else think that Airbnb might be doomed if this keeps up? Or maybe I’ve just gotten unlucky.

P.S. I will say that Airbnb Experiences is pretty great. But I’m not sure how big of a revenue stream that is for them compared to accommodations.

2 comments

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ChildOfChaos 3y ago ↗

Exactly, I booked somewhere for a concert in November for April.

The place recently cancelled, looks like they sold the place and it was on the market and they were simply using it as an Airbnb in the meantime, now everywhere is booked or way more expensive.

Booked another AirBnb but it seems a little sketchy, so having to find a hotel to book as a back up and wait for more reviews and cancel whatever one is not the best option at the time.

The problem is you can trust a hotel, you can't trust an airbnb, although they are much nicer.

kypro 3y ago ↗

I don't think you can be bearish on account of the price. The price is set by supply and demand dynamics. If people were choosing hotels over Airbnbs then hosts would have to reduce prices to compete.

I was a power user of Airbnb 10 years ago and used it frequently while working remote. My experience with Airbnb has always been good. I can only assume a lot of the issues people report come from over optimising for price. If you're a little less price sensitive and look at reviews then you can find great places quite easily.

For me though it's not about price. Airbnb offers a different product to a hotel. Hotels are great for short city breaks, but for longer stays (especially if I'm going to be working) Airbnb offers a superior product.

That said, these days I love finding small B&Bs over both hotels and Airbnbs. Hosts are great, rooms are always clean, and breakfast is included for an affordable price.