[hn_throwaway_99]

> But that's not a new thing; companies have been in the same business for years. WeWork's valuation is wildly out of proportion to its competitors.

I take issue with the "people have been doing the same thing for years" take, when most hugely successful start-ups tend to be small tweaks on established ideas. Take AirBnB. Peer-to-peer short term rentals existed on the Internet in the form of sites like VRBO since the late 90s, but AirBnB's relatively small changes (mainly ensuring that the financial transaction occurred completely on their platform) allowed for the sea change of urban short term rentals.

While I'm bearish on WeWork for the same reasons as many other people, I think there is certainly room for a consolidated business of month-to-month office rentals that offers a branded experience.

[gamblor956]

There's also the important bit where VRBO attempted to comply with local hoteling regulations and AirBnB just ignored them or even actively encourage hosts to ignore the law.

[davinic]

I used VRBO often before AirBnb existed and I never experienced anyone collecting hotel taxes or attempting to be in compliance. Do you have a source for this claim?

[gamblor956]

I used VBRO before Airbnb and hosts in vacation towns were definitely collecting local taxes. Unlike Airbnb, VBRO responded to requests for host info because they were trying to do things the right way.