[jasonwatkinspdx]

The folks at the famous ad firm Widen and Kennedy like to say "the best story wins." AirBnB did have one thing different in it's story vs VRBO, which was that it was initially pitched at people's spare bedrooms, not owners of vacation properties. It's a small difference, but meaningful in how the marketing message spread imo, even if AirBnB did come to be dominated by "professional" hosts.

[yumraj]

Yes, I agree. So in a way it was a cross between VRBO and couchsurfing - which as you say made a much better story.