> I’m frequently asked about what Airbnb did right
This is the problem. They didn't do it right. They broke TOSes. They committed fraud. They misled home owners and renters. They broke hospitality laws. They broke licensing and employment laws. They evaded taxes. They bait n switched customers. They enabled more fraud from their market place participants.
I’d argue that the definition of “right” is highly subjective.
If the goal is “get big and be profitable”: they are big and profitable. Ipso facto, they did it right.
Whether of not many of the things you mentioned are right are wrong is a matter of debate. For me, I wouldn’t consider the following “wrong”:
> They broke hospitality laws.
> They broke licensing and employment laws.
Several of the other points are ambiguous to me because I’m not terribly familiar with Airbnb’s history.
More to the point... to some degree, skirting and even blatantly ignoring law and regulation is celebrated in our industry. We call it “disruption”. I’m all for that, but whether it’s right or wrong is - as I said before - a matter of perspective.
This is the problem. They didn't do it right. They broke TOSes. They committed fraud. They misled home owners and renters. They broke hospitality laws. They broke licensing and employment laws. They evaded taxes. They bait n switched customers. They enabled more fraud from their market place participants.
They didn't get big by doing things right.