jgacook

A lot of companies have been crossing my radar that are similar to AirBnb, but focused on longer stays and typically with a more managed, hotel-like experience: Sonder, WanderJaunt, Lyric, and Stay Alfred, to name a few.

In spite of doing some reading on the topic I have a poor understanding of the business model underlying these companies and therefore have trouble gauging whether it's worth it to work for any of them. I would be grateful for any perspective on the industry. Some questions at the top of my mind:

- broadly speaking, are these businesses viable in the long term? With so much cash pouring into these companies the marketplace seems like a bubble.

- with so many well funded entrants in the marketplace is there any room for a "winner" or will each try to dominate a region and eventually experience flattening growth?

- do these businesses negatively impact the rental market? Are there ethical considerations about replacing housing for local tenants with hotels?

- how susceptible is the business to regulation? Seems like if local governments enacted any kind of restrictive legislation then bottom lines could be severely hurt, especially since many of these startups seek to acquire properties outright or take out long term leases on them.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can lend to the topic.