Airbnb shares drop 12% as company flags weakening US demand

I used to use Airbnb all the time but a single experience dealing with their customer service and a bad host was enough for me to never use them again. The lows of using Airbnb are 100x lower than the lows of hotels, and the highs are higher but not nearly enough to justify the risk.

With all the hidden fees and exorbitant cleaning fees, I think it is much cheaper to book a hotel than an airbnb nowadays. No wonder demand is going down.

I've found Airbnb to be good for 6-10 people in a large house. Over our 10 ~trips every host has been normal to good.

I probably wouldn't use them for a single or couple stay, nor in extremely high demand tourist areas and holidays.

It feels good as a consumer to finally see companies face stock price consequences for tanking quality while jacking up prices. Though its a wildly different market the same is happening for Starbucks and McDonalds.

I'll rehash some of the complaints others have mentioned. Unless its a larger group, it really doesn't make sense to use vs. a hotel. Even if price is constant, there's just a bit more friction with AirBnB. Sometimes its easy, but other times you're trying to find the code that you have to enter for the key. Then I have to find the rules for the property to make sure I cleaned it according to their standards (while paying a cleaning fee?). At a hotel, I go up to the front desk, they give me a key, and then I return it at the end.

One thing that is not ever mentioned is that there is no reward (that I am aware of) for being a frequent user of AirBnB's. If I go to Marriott/Hilton/Hyatt hotels regularly, I can earn benefits and travers up their tier list for benefits. Not sure I have seen anything like that with AirBnB.

Most of the complaints you hear about Airbnb come off as off-the-shelf repeats of things people have read on social media. If you read reviews and pay attention to the listing there's little risk of having a bad experience or being surprised by a fee (which is extremely common at hotels.)

All that being said, if you actually get to the point where you need to engage Airbnb or Vrbo for help, they are actively harmful to the situation. The people on the other end of the phone or live chat don't have a single clue what is going on.

They deserve a correction.

Imoortant data point: NYC anti-airbnb law came into effect 9 months ago[1] This has destroyed airbnb listings in nyc to the joy of hotels everywhere. I believe bookings made before the law came to be survived, so they stayed on the books as revenue, assuming a lead time of avg 6 months, you'd exoect the hit to be happening in Q2-Q3 of thia year.

There are also regulations that came online ij all of BC and some other cities in CAN as well.

If this is happening in more major markets, maybe that's the reason for the fall?

[1] https://slate.com/business/2023/09/new-york-city-airbnb-new-...

Frequent AirBnB user here. Never had a problem. Yes some hosts charge stupid fees. Don't rent their places. No they're not more expensive than hotels if you have 4 people and need 3 bathrooms. Perhaps for one person they are.

Perhaps demand is dropping as the pent-up post-covid demand dissipates?

$2.75B revenue, up 11% YoY. $555M net income (20% margin). $1B free cash flow. $75B market cap (after the dip).

Yes they may have missed analyst expectations, but AirBnb is still a very solid business. Not on its last legs as everyone here seems to be convinced.

Something else not mentioned here - there’s a strong incentive for both guests and hosts to use Airbnb as a way to find each other but not to book. I’m a host and I regularly get direct reach-outs from people who have found my listing on Airbnb, googled the name of my house, and reach out asking to book directly with me. Returning guests who did book through the platform always come back to me directly. Airbnb doesn’t deserve $200 from them and $100 from me for doing next to nothing.

This isn’t a sign that STRs are in trouble, people have been renting their second homes for a hundred years. This is a sign that the platforms are reaping what they sowed.

British Columbia has effectively banned whole house Airbnb rentals Province wide, and it's no longer possible to buy a condo and rent it out 24/7 as if it was a hotel.*

Have any other States enacted rules this severe? Are any about to?

Various cities have enacted Airbnb regulations, but it's at the State/Provincial level where enforcement would start to have real teeth and Airbnb would genuinely start to be in trouble.

* Exceptions: Municipalities below 10k and those with rental vacancy above 3% can opt out of the rules.

After being scammed by host using a "final price" ("tax on top") scheme in 2015, I don't use Airbnb. So even though for a public company the stock price is not really connected to anything except shareholders wealth, I still welcome the recent dropping of their share price. Just considering them allowing many scammy practices (yes, Airbnb support does not help in most cases).

A reason for Airbnb I’m not seeing in the other comments: traveling with a dog is much easier with Airbnb than a hotel. I can find a fenced backyard and also have lots of indoor space.

I also choose airbnbs for cooking. We almost always choose a place with a grill, since our apartment doesn’t have one, and often a fire pit, too.

Never used it again after being stranded by a host that canceled the day before new years eve

I’ve decided to never use them again. I’ve had horrendous experiences with hosts and while Airbnb does do something it’s never actually made anything right.

There are great hosts out there, and then there are scammers and inconsiderate jerks with ridiculous house rules a mile long.

They need to do better at the downside management. I literally sent them a video showing it was in fact not the same apartment as the listing and they offered 20% off. The same host lied about sending someone to fix the broken hot water. Airbnb offered 30% instead of 20%. Laughable.

In Europe Airbnb seems to be much less popular, most people I know just use Booking.com which list private properties too. I use these quite often when I travel with my family and we intend to cook rather than go out (which is generally more healthy and less expensive, and when everybody helps, it doesn't take that much time).

I haven’t seen the “reverse image search” issue mentioned. It is pretty common knowledge now that you can take photos from AirBNB listings and many times find a direct booking with the company that is listing. Not always, but this has saved me thousands across two trips so far this year. *weeklong stays in Maui, San Diego

Morbid thought of the evening: If there is a meaningful broader downturn I wonder if they'll benefit from people losing stable housing and turning to ABNB for itinerant shelter.

Maybe is due to all the complaints and people start shying away

No surprises, they’re late stage enshittification.