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0 pointskennend33y ago0 comments

> AirBnB's entire business is predicated on skirting regulation.

From time to time you spot underappreciated comments here. This is one of them

AirBnB, Lyft, Uber, etc - their entire business model is predicated on skirting regulations.

Then people are surprised they don't keep honest negative reviews? Why would a company which is knowingly violating rules care about your negative review?

They make money from hosts putting their places up for rent, not from those renting and if a negative review causes a listing to be removed... Clearly it is far more economical to remove the review instead.

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duped3y ago

It's not inherently bad. Some regulations are dumb and should be challenged by the market, like Uber and Lyft did to taxi companies and the protectionist regulations that kept them from evolving and improving.

It's less about removing the review or listing and more about looking at the belief system in the business. If a local government says "this space is for permanent residents only" AirBnB would say, "why?" and would rather ignore or fight the regulation than comply (or more likely "take it up with the host, not us").

There are legitimate questions to what terms a government/HOA can force on property owners renting out their residences. From taxation to civil rights and racial equity there's a lot on the table to challenge. That said, companies can be reckless when choosing not deal with the question because it doesn't have an easy answer and grow/scale at ethics' expense.

AirBnB has actually had to deal with this, like removing the ability of hosts to see guest photos before booking because of racial discrimination, and charging the appropriate hospitality taxes on listings to comply with the vast number of of municipalities they operate in.

kennend3OP3y ago

keep in mind why some of those taxi regulations were created in the first place.

In the not so distance past there was a FLOOD of drivers, few rules and regulations and eventually a "race to the bottom" (too many drivers chasing too few fares).

Then the pendulum of regulation swings TOO FAR in the other direction, creating the "medallion" system where these are worth a small fortune.

A happy medium is where the market self-clears with reasonble regulations to protect both drivers and consumers.

AirBnB is in the same boat. It was a good idea when it was individuals renting out unused rooms for some extra cash. now AirBnB is an unlicensed hotel, where people buy up houses specifically for AirBnB.

There are countless stores of people renting property, and then turning around and putting that on AirBnB.

And strongly agree, some rules are dumb, but the correct approach should be to push for change, not run illegal businesses like AirBnB, Uber, etc.

If i called someone to come get me from "A" and drop me off at "B" how is this "ride sharing" and not a taxi service?

duped3y ago

> reasonable regulations to protect both drivers and consumers.

I would rather regulations exist to protect consumers and communities without respect for the business owners/operators' needs. Businesses don't have an inherent right to exist or be profitable and the choice to protect them is one of pragmatism (eg: national defense, airlines, rail).

I think something got lost in my last reply, I don't think companies should flagrantly break laws and feel that governments should take the gloves off more often to slap them with massive penalties for ignoring them. But it's not black and white.

pnt123y ago

Seems like thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Thesis: too many taxis result in badservice Antithesis: too many restrictions also result in bad service Synthesis: breaking some of the laws results in better service

Now we talk about regulating the gig economy, a horrible thing mostly brought by Uber and airbnb: let's see where it leads us.

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duped3y ago

kennend3OP3y ago

keep in mind why some of those taxi regulations were created in the first place.

In the not so distance past there was a FLOOD of drivers, few rules and regulations and eventually a "race to the bottom" (too many drivers chasing too few fares).

Then the pendulum of regulation swings TOO FAR in the other direction, creating the "medallion" system where these are worth a small fortune.

A happy medium is where the market self-clears with reasonble regulations to protect both drivers and consumers.

There are countless stores of people renting property, and then turning around and putting that on AirBnB.

And strongly agree, some rules are dumb, but the correct approach should be to push for change, not run illegal businesses like AirBnB, Uber, etc.

If i called someone to come get me from "A" and drop me off at "B" how is this "ride sharing" and not a taxi service?

duped3y ago

> reasonable regulations to protect both drivers and consumers.

pnt123y ago

Seems like thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Thesis: too many taxis result in badservice Antithesis: too many restrictions also result in bad service Synthesis: breaking some of the laws results in better service

Now we talk about regulating the gig economy, a horrible thing mostly brought by Uber and airbnb: let's see where it leads us.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse