Hacker News Reader

Then why do we need airbnb at all? Use craigslist for hotels too. The big issue here is that airbnb claims from the start that they are more than just classifieds, giving people a sense of security which is false.

View on HN

>Then why do we need airbnb at all?

Website more pretty. They also have an intro video with a lady talking. Craiglist does not have a pretty site or video with a lady talking.

Exactly that false sense. I 've never used airbnb, but reading the positive hype i would be very positively biased to use it, while i would think Craigslist is "creepy". It's a matter of overinflated hype here more than anything else I think. With great hype, comes great responsibility, a wise man once said.

Well it doesn't necessarily have to be either or. AirBnB can adopt the same non-responsible legal stance as craigslist and still compete on user experience, strength of community, some level of non-guaranteed vetting, etc. I would agree though that they need be very clear and explicit about what they are and aren't responsible for, and they've apparently done a bad job of this so far.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com