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mp90 t1_iv766uy wrote

They're a victim of the same thing that happened to Uber and other '10s tech companies: the VC money dried up. Now they need to make a profit.

I also saw a very compelling insight recently that resonated with me: "Airbnb's core user base grew up and can now more easily afford hotels." When I was a young 20-something, I liked staying in Airbnb home shares on European vacations. But now as a 30-something, I prefer a higher level of comfort and cleanliness.

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NKR1978 t1_iv7djp3 wrote

Unless it's a group trip, there's no reason for AirBnB. Even on groups I'll sometimes stay in a hotel instead. At least with a hotel, I can leave my bags with their bellman and start the vacation if the room isn't ready.

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Very_Bad_Janet t1_iv7tllm wrote

Airbnb are good for families. But so are its competitors VRBO and Hotels.com, which both have apartment and house rentals, and maybe other sites. They aren't unique.

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Ice_Business t1_iv8b8rg wrote

Same here. I traveled in groups in my 20s and Airbnb made it very cheap. Something like $50/night when you divided it among your friends. Nowadays, I travel with my SO and Airbnb pricing is comparable with hotels, except Airbnbs come with chores and a complicated check in or check out.

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MarketMan123 t1_iva0jq4 wrote

The “millennial subsidy” is starting to disappear.

Meanwhile, this whole idea of “build a following by being real cheap and operating in the red and they’ll stick with us when we raise prices” is proving to be very false (or maybe its a "play long game, bet it all" strategy that is very high risk/high reward)

When Amazon stops refunding me for everything and offering free return shipping my whole life will change. I know the day is coming though.

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FourthLife t1_ivgsh9e wrote

How often are you asking for refunds from Amazon that that will be significant for you?

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MarketMan123 t1_ivgsvh8 wrote

According to a quick search of my email, about 40 times between now and one year ago today.

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13312 t1_ivawyoy wrote

yes they purposely do this to create a monopoly and then when the other options are decimated, ppl have very few alternatives

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CedgeDC t1_ivaby21 wrote

This is bullshit. Millennials own about 3% of all wealth. We don't have more money. In fact I'd say the opposite is true and if anything there's just less travel over all after 2020.

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mp90 t1_ivad9qo wrote

Affording a hotel room is different than a long-term investment in real estate. Both of our statements can be true.

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