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by AnimalMuppet 2264 days ago
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?
2 comments
Judgmentality 2264 days ago
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.

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AnimalMuppet 2264 days ago
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).

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Judgmentality 2264 days ago
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.

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detaro 2264 days ago
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.

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