

AirBnB for Experiences - Designed for Failure? - coolestcool
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/24/dead-pooling-gidsy-acquired-by-getyourguide-in-a-berlin-insiders-deal/

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coolestcool
I've always loved the concept of an AirBnb for experiences and even considered
using a model similar for my own business. That said, overtime, I realized
there were several issues with the business model - The founder of Skyara (one
of the first AirBnb's for experiences) was the first that realized the model
didn't work.

The founder @stevenou shared this a few months back:

"While in theory it sounds like a great concept, the key to realize is that no
"AirBnB for Activites" can ever be an "AirBnB for Activities." What I mean by
that is: the part of the "AirBnB for X" business model that makes it work is
the part where you have a very low marginal cost to renting out an existing
resource that, presumably, is getting very low utilization. I.e. a car sitting
in a garage, an empty couch. The marginal cost of renting those out... is
basically zero. However, with Activities, the resource at play is actually
time! A person needs to take two hours out of their day to offer a walking
tour, cooking class, etc. Arguably, time is the most scarce resource we have.
People value their time highly, which means the marginal cost (in this case
the opportunity cost) of them offering an activity is very high. Add to that
the fact that individuals do not benefit from any sort of economy of scale,
and that most likely means that they cannot compete with businesses on price
(which is arguably where AirBnB is winning in its biggest market, NYC).

So of course, I'm not saying an "AirBnB for Activities" is not possible, but
some fundamental problems make it significantly more difficult than one might
initially expect. Personally I think Vayable is doing a great job, but time
will tell..."

