[mmcconnell1618]

Uber doesn't own the cars and Airbnb doesn't own the property because it would constrain their growth rates. It would require significantly more capital to own everything. Franchise models are designed for the same reason. There can be a Dunkin on every corner because anyone can pay a license fee to the company and create one.

Long term, I think this will change. As Airbnb secures a more dominant position, they will look to some vertical integration for additional revenue and cost savings. So you may see an Airbnb owned cleaning service and eventually, they'll want to own the properties. Same with Uber, when we have truly autonomous vehicles, it will make sense for Uber to buy or rent a fleet of company vehicles to control the experience and cost of the service. Surge pricing then becomes a business lever rather than a motivation to get drivers to a specific area.

[arbitrary_name]

Why would they want to own the property just because they provide cleaning services?

[mmcconnell1618]

Cleaning services would be a first step to vertical integration, later they may wish to own the properties to collect the profit margin currently collected by the property owners who rent through airbnb.