[temp20160423]

I don't follow this logic.

Bird/lime own their inventory.

Airbnb is better off than the hotel chains IMO. The hotel chains have to keep paying their staff and rent while revenue drops, but airbnb just sees the revenue drop.

It exposes the people who bought properties to list on airbnb on aggressive margins or like the example in the article of someone buying a car just to put on the platform. I wonder how much rental prices will be affected when the properties that were bought to use for airbnb are brought back to the long-term rental market.

[wvenable]

Yes, Airbnb will be better off because they've offloaded all the risk on the hosts -- which is really what we're talking about here. Sure there were some hosts just renting out their basement suite but many others were effectively running makeshift hotels by buying up properties. Those people are going to be in big trouble.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Actually, I know some people who bought whole homes in vacation destinations that are doing fine as they are advertising their properties as good places to quarantine. It's the market for shared spaces that is completely dead.

[wvenable]

That's got to be the exception rather than rule.

[PopeDotNinja]

I'm under quarantine at an Airbnb!

[gamblor956]

AirBnB will be worse off, because post COVID19, people will trust hotels more than random strangers' houses. You know the hotel will be cleaned. You can't say the same of an AirBnB.

And it's very likely that AirBnB restrictions will increase post-COVID19 to eliminate a lot of the apartment units that were (illegally) converted to AirBnB units, and that enforcement of existing AirBnB restrictions in cities like NY and LA will increase dramatically, both for safety reasons and to protect the hotel companies that actually employ workers, pay hotel taxes, and contribute to the local economy.

[colmvp]

I can't speak for every city, but where I live, a lot of Airbnber's are hurting for the sudden drop in revenue. Hotels might get bailouts or credits from the government but short term rental companies will get nothing and be hard pressed to find the resources to continue paying their mortgages. We're already seeing condos that were rented out as Airbnb's pop up on the real estate market.

[gamblor956]

That is a good thing. Those condos should never have been converted to unregistered hotel rooms, and I'm sure the other people living in those developments will be glad that the parade of strangers will no longer be invading their buildings.

[Apocryphon]

This is also the perfect time for jurisdictions to tighten up their regulations that pertain to Airbnb.

[PopeDotNinja]

Meh. If hotels can have bed bugs, they have Coronavirus, too.

[AnimalMuppet]

I agree with you about Airbnb. Airbnb itself will be fine, but those who bought a property to rent out are hurting.

But Bird/Lime are in deep trouble, and not just because of cost of the scooters they own. Who is going to rent one, not knowing the health status of the previous renter?

[Judgmentality]

I don't follow your logic. AirBnB will be fine even though nobody wants to use their service, but Bird/Lime won't be fine because nobody wants to use their service?

I'd be much more comfortable using a scooter because I can just wipe down the handles. I have no idea what's going on in someone else's house, and in my experience AirBnB hosts are pretty shitty about cleaning up their properties even though they make you pay for it.

[AnimalMuppet]

No, Airbnb will be fine because their expenses are running the servers, not owning the houses. They won't be making money, but they won't be losing it, either. The people who bought a house to rent via Airbnb, on the other hand, are going to get crushed.

Sure, you can wipe down the handles, if you brought wipes with you. That makes it a lot more spontaneous to use, though (unless you carry wipes everywhere, which is in fact a reasonable thing to do).

[Judgmentality]

AirBnB, to the best of my knowledge, has never been actually profitable even when business was booming. The notion that they will suddenly be okay now that they're not making money is ridiculous, even if they have fewer costs than hotels.

I understand your point about hosts bearing the brunt of the costs, but that's comparing AirBnB the business to AirBnB the users. I was comparing AirBnB the business to Bird/Lime the business, because that was a juxtaposition you made in your original comment.

Anyway, agree to disagree I guess.

[detaro]

A pile of unused scooters is probably not that expensive either to store somewhere while they're not used (and many are probably just out on the street). Aren't employee costs going to hurt both models more? Bird already laid of hundreds of their 1,000+ employees. Airbnb has 12,000+ employees.

The scooter companies might have less reserves though, and their market is probably oversaturated even in good times.