[revorad]

Finally, someone had the insight to call out this company! I mean they've only managed to build a billion dollar business by turning ordinary homeowners into businessmen, provided better accomodation to hundreds of thousands of travellers across the world, destabilised an established old industry with entrenched market leaders while taking on a myriad of social and local government issues.

Seriously, they don't deserve all this hype and buzz.

[ChuckFrank]

Obviously that's a strawman argument. If I'm mistaken about calling Airbnb to the table, address my points, as I will address yours.

1. They haven't build a billion dollar business, they are only valued at that. There's a bid difference.

2. Ordinary homeowners have and had many other options to rent their properties - Short term rental brokers and VRBO are just two of them. Craigslist in another one. Airbnb alone cannot take that as their success.

3. Perhaps they have provided better accommodations than their competitors. Do you have anything to support that?

4. The internet itself is destabilizing the entrenched markets.

5. And here's the reason I responded, because I am most interested in the work that they are doing to address the social and local government issues. Please provide something to support that. Google doesn't have anything..

http://www.google.com/search?q=airbnb+address+local+issues&#...

Nor does Airbnb themselves

http://www.airbnb.com/help/search?q=local+government

[jerf]

"4. The internet itself is destabilizing the entrenched markets."

This one is a bit unfair, though I don't know about the rest. "The Internet (TM)" doesn't just destabilize industries in an abstract sense, it destabilizes them by a set of real companies that take market share from entrenched competition, and by allowing that entrenched competition to sometimes improve themselves in the new market (which doesn't happen as often as you'd think). It's not "The Internet (TM)" that gets credit, it's those companies.

[dataminer]

Does Airbnb have yearly revenue of a billion dollar? According to the article 1.6 million nights have been booked through them, if they are a "billion dollar" business than average booking revenue will be $625.

[revorad]

Did you read the headline?

[dataminer]

Yes it says 1 billion+ valuation not a billion dollar business.

[hyperbovine]

"Billion dollar business" typically refers to revenue, not valuation.