

Airbnb: The DNC's billion dollar startup - rainmaker23
http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/06/technology/airbnb-dnc-startup/

======
_delirium
I think big events is actually one of the places it's less of a revolution:
Airbnb makes it easier, but people have always rented out spare rooms for big
events as hotels fill up or get too expensive. When there's a huge demand
around a specific time/location there are ways to make that work pre-Airbnb,
ranging from Craigslist to event-specific forums. That has happened for many
years at the Olympics, for example. I've never gone to an Olympics myself, but
many of the people I know who've gone have rented out apartments or rooms from
random individuals, usually finding them on Olympic-related forums (it can be
even better if you can find someone with similar sports interests to you as a
host, e.g. on a forum dedicated to Olympic swimming).

I see Airbnb as more revolutionary for just normal travel, where previously
the discovery/matching problem for that scattered demand and supply was
insurmountably high.

------
DigitalSea
I never fully understood how such a concept hasn't drawn more criticism than
it has. Airbnb have been around for a while now and it's evident they're doing
exceptionally well, even joining the prestigious $1b club (but seriously, what
startup these days isn't be valued at one billion?). The real question is how
long can they sustain this growth for before the lawsuits start flying around
and something bad happens?

Look what's happening to Uber, they're facing heavy attention from taxi
lobbyists not too happy with someone else muscling in on their territory. It's
going to be the same for Airbnb as they gain more notoriety, motels and hotels
are going to start lobbying their local politicians to get some draconian
legislation that will make what Airbnb is doing even more unlawful than it
potential is.

I love Airbnb, it's a great idea and it deserves every ounce of its success,
but the troubles have yet to come for Airbnb. Lets hope they're saving that
yearly revenue because they're going to need it when the lawyers come
knocking.

~~~
nikcub
I see the trouble that AirBNB and Uber have caused as a sure sign that they
are onto something

as consumers it is in our interest for these companies to win their respective
fights against old bureaucracies

------
atirip
Damn i feel so stupid, so stupid, so stupid. Sure, everybody in the modern
world knows what DNC means.

------
npguy
Seriously. Even now, it sounds like a "too many issues, will not work"
concept.

