Exactly!! I always wondered why it took so many years for someone to figure out a revenue model for couchsurfing ('couchsurfing' website started in 2003 and AirBnB in 2008). AirBnB is just that (atleast at start)
The folks at the famous ad firm Widen and Kennedy like to say "the best story wins." AirBnB did have one thing different in it's story vs VRBO, which was that it was initially pitched at people's spare bedrooms, not owners of vacation properties. It's a small difference, but meaningful in how the marketing message spread imo, even if AirBnB did come to be dominated by "professional" hosts.
> with VRBO predating Airbnb by a lot, except for a more slick execution.
And "the more slick execution" was key. VRBO was until quite recently basically just classified ads - all transactions were done off platform, which was a major PITA and left a huge vector for fraud. I remember back in the late 00s I rented a place in Europe, and the only form of payment the owner would take was cash, so I showed up and paid 1200 euros in cash like I was buying half a kilo of heroin.
AirBnB solved the transaction issue right from the get go, with all payments going through their system and the owner not getting paid until like a day or two after the guest checked in. In addition, AirBnB worked off a commission model, which makes much more sense from a business perspective and which VRBO finally switched to a couple years ago.
yumraj|5 years ago
Edit: Per Wikipedia VRBO was launched in 1995.
jasonwatkinspdx|5 years ago
hn_throwaway_99|5 years ago
And "the more slick execution" was key. VRBO was until quite recently basically just classified ads - all transactions were done off platform, which was a major PITA and left a huge vector for fraud. I remember back in the late 00s I rented a place in Europe, and the only form of payment the owner would take was cash, so I showed up and paid 1200 euros in cash like I was buying half a kilo of heroin.
AirBnB solved the transaction issue right from the get go, with all payments going through their system and the owner not getting paid until like a day or two after the guest checked in. In addition, AirBnB worked off a commission model, which makes much more sense from a business perspective and which VRBO finally switched to a couple years ago.
garry|5 years ago
User experience and design matters a lot.
bennysonething|5 years ago