how so?
It wouldn't have had any effect on Prop F passing or not and would not affect the price Expedia is paying for HomeAway since this deal was probably in the works for months.
>Given Airbnb’s rapid growth, Expedia probably looked at building its own competing service but decided to use its war chest to acquire HomeAway instead.
I'd say this is very strategic by Expedia thus letting Airbnb and others spend to fight such an action and then promptly announcing it has acquired its biggest competitor. If this isn't strategic, then I don't know what is.
It is more about gauging public sentiment. If Prop F passed Expedia would have been wise to reconsider the deal. The last thing you want to do is spend all that money into an industry headed for heavy regulation that was voted in by citizens.
You act like prop F was a national proposition or somehow international, this was just one city. Even if prop F passed it would not bring airbnb down as they operate in 34k+ cities around the world. Expedia is also targeting the int'l market. I doubt they would reconsider just over SF.
