For those who do not know, Airbnb is an online vacation rental marketplace that allows users to stay at the homes of the app’s ‘hosts’ during vacation, tourism, and other travel experiences. Airbnb is without a doubt one of the greatest startup success stories of the 21st century, starting in 2008 with an
This is a killer analysis. Great work as always. I would be curious as to your thoughts on Airbnb's regulatory struggles, such as those outlined in this WIRED article:
Thank you for this Andy! I did not come across this in my research - very interesting. From an investment perspective, I would certainly consider regulatory problems like this a risk that would warrant not investing. Companies with similar business models leveraging 'contractor'-owned property like Uber and Lyft are also having big problems with governmental oversight. Overall, these kinds of business models are uncharted territory and it is unsurprising that government has stepped in to try and take their share of the revenue these companies are generating. I doubt that these kinds of businesses are going to cease to exist due to government regulation and taxation; the bottom line is these services create jobs and additional tax revenue for the government no matter how you look at it - but these companies' may be hurt significantly by some of the regulations and litigations on the table. I think the ideal outcome is just one in which these conflicts can are resolved in a way that benefits all of the involved stakeholders
Another interesting and thoughtful article. Love this site!!!
This is a killer analysis. Great work as always. I would be curious as to your thoughts on Airbnb's regulatory struggles, such as those outlined in this WIRED article:
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-airbnbs-guerrilla-war-against-local-governments/
Do you see this impacting the IPO? This article is from 2019 but I'm sure a fair amount of these legal issues are still being hashed out.
I would think of the regulatory challenges as a reason not to invest, but am mostly curious what you think Jason!
Thank you for this Andy! I did not come across this in my research - very interesting. From an investment perspective, I would certainly consider regulatory problems like this a risk that would warrant not investing. Companies with similar business models leveraging 'contractor'-owned property like Uber and Lyft are also having big problems with governmental oversight. Overall, these kinds of business models are uncharted territory and it is unsurprising that government has stepped in to try and take their share of the revenue these companies are generating. I doubt that these kinds of businesses are going to cease to exist due to government regulation and taxation; the bottom line is these services create jobs and additional tax revenue for the government no matter how you look at it - but these companies' may be hurt significantly by some of the regulations and litigations on the table. I think the ideal outcome is just one in which these conflicts can are resolved in a way that benefits all of the involved stakeholders
Excellent thoughts-- thank you!