Brian Chesky, The New AirBnb, and Founder Mode

[JohnH]

Are you referring to the price that is displayed in search results,

The price displayed in the search results. AirBNB litigated it for years, and eventually lost; they now have to show all-inclusive prices.

or are you saying that the full, final amount that is charged to your credit card is never shown prior to when you actually book? If the latter, yes, that would be lying about the cost of a stay. I believe it would also be illegal. If you are referring to the full, final price including all taxes and fees not being shown until the final step of booking, no, that is not lying about the cost of the stay, any more than many hotels and travel agencies which have the same sorts of practices.

It is completely lying to advertise the cost of a stay that doesn't include the cleaning fee. It is deceptive to not show the agency fee either, but at least I can mentally compute 15% in my head. If I do a search for a 1 day stays or 3 day stays, it is impossible to look at the search results and know what the cleaning fee will actually make the stay per night unless I click on each result.

But, hey, maybe the FTC and I are both wrong.

Neither the host nor the guest can read the other's review prior to writing their own, so I don't understand what you are saying here. The only possibility of retaliation would be in future bookings, which typically don't happen when there is a negative experience. Now, I believe you can respond to the other's review, but that's only after you have already posted your review and rating, and you can't easily get those changed or removed.

Go ahead and leave some negative reviews for guests and see what happens!

But not unsatisfactory enough that Airbnb has not risen in popularity to the point where it really can't grow any more, according to your previous post.

AirBNB's business model is based around deceptive marketing and breaking the law. I don't think that's a good model for growth of businesses in America, and it's not like America didn't have short term rentals and hotels and motels before AirBNB existed. If AirBNB and similar online platforms didn't exist, you could still operate a guest house.

[mike]

Are you referring to the price that is displayed in search results,

The price displayed in the search results. AirBNB litigated it for years, and eventually lost; they now have to show all-inclusive prices.

or are you saying that the full, final amount that is charged to your credit card is never shown prior to when you actually book? If the latter, yes, that would be lying about the cost of a stay. I believe it would also be illegal. If you are referring to the full, final price including all taxes and fees not being shown until the final step of booking, no, that is not lying about the cost of the stay, any more than many hotels and travel agencies which have the same sorts of practices.

It is completely lying to advertise the cost of a stay that doesn't include the cleaning fee. It is deceptive to not show the agency fee either, but at least I can mentally compute 15% in my head. If I do a search for a 1 day stays or 3 day stays, it is impossible to look at the search results and know what the cleaning fee will actually make the stay per night unless I click on each result.

But, hey, maybe the FTC and I are both wrong.

Neither the host nor the guest can read the other's review prior to writing their own, so I don't understand what you are saying here. The only possibility of retaliation would be in future bookings, which typically don't happen when there is a negative experience. Now, I believe you can respond to the other's review, but that's only after you have already posted your review and rating, and you can't easily get those changed or removed.

Go ahead and leave some negative reviews for guests and see what happens!

But not unsatisfactory enough that Airbnb has not risen in popularity to the point where it really can't grow any more, according to your previous post.

AirBNB's business model is based around deceptive marketing and breaking the law. I don't think that's a good model for growth of businesses in America, and it's not like America didn't have short term rentals and hotels and motels before AirBNB existed. If AirBNB and similar online platforms didn't exist, you could still operate a guest house.

Breaking the law should merit legal consequences, so if they are or have been doing illegal things, fine, let them pay. Bad business practices that are not illegal but that deceive and hurt the public are certainly bad things, and if these things are going on, the public will punish them by not using their services. So be it.

You are welcome to have the last word.

[JohnH]

Bad business practices that are not illegal but that deceive and hurt the public are certainly bad things, and if these things are going on, the public will punish them by not using their services.

When a business gains a monopoly or near-monopoly, it becomes difficult to "punish" them by not using their services.

For example, if I wanted to rent your guest house, I would probably have to use AirBNB, right? I can't choose an alternative, regardless of how much I want to avoid AirBNB's deceptive practices (for example) in listings, or if I want to avoid a company that dodged paying taxes for years.

[mike]

Bad business practices that are not illegal but that deceive and hurt the public are certainly bad things, and if these things are going on, the public will punish them by not using their services.

When a business gains a monopoly or near-monopoly, it becomes difficult to "punish" them by not using their services.

For example, if I wanted to rent your guest house, I would probably have to use AirBNB, right? I can't choose an alternative, regardless of how much I want to avoid AirBNB's deceptive practices (for example) in listings, or if I want to avoid a company that dodged paying taxes for years.

You can call me, and I would either let you use it for free or on a donation basis. This is what we do for friends or acquaintances. We also rent it long-term outside of Airbnb occasionally, usually for teachers or singles.

One can also list it on other platforms like VRBO and sync calendars between the platforms. You're not stuck with Airbnb.

If I advertised it publicly for rent, I would have renters in it tomorrow. But I'm not that interested in the risk of long-term renters unless I know them personally.