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.
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.
I think Airbnb has the advantage of being very global compared to say, Uber. The lawsuit/lobbying issues are primarily a US problem, and to a lesser extent, the UK and western Europe. Not to say that they'd be the same business without those markets, but the slew of other countries where they operate gives them some breathing room
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.