It's ironic that you'd pick Airbnb, since there is a very straightforward argument that the same effect is in play there - Airbnb is successful because of regulatory arbitrage.

It's not like "booking places to sleep in foreign countries" was waiting for a new technological innovation; rather, the existing regulatory frameworks in play placed a cost floor and a high barrier to entry for competitors.

Much the same way that a municipality artificially constrains the amount of cabs on the road, a municipality artificially constrains hotels by zoning specific parts of town for hospitality use. Most cities won't let you open up a bed and breakfast in any given residential neighbourhood.

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In this view, as articulated by TFA, both Uber and Airbnb owe their success to a) being cheaper and b) having greater supply, both artifacts of their ability to _skirt existing regulation_ their competitors can't avoid.

Can you think of a different successful 'Uber for X'?