I've seen a few calls for fediverse alternatives to AirBnB.
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I've seen a few calls for fediverse alternatives to AirBnB. I don't see how that can work.
AirBnB has absolutely destroyed rental markets, created artificial housing shortages, and driven up rents. It causes problems for neighbours and neighbourhoods. It also has serious issues with customer service and customer safety.
I don't see a way to reform this system or build something on this model if you care about safety, privacy and housing equity.
*Don't fanboy for AirBnB in my mentions, pls.
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I've seen a few calls for fediverse alternatives to AirBnB. I don't see how that can work.
AirBnB has absolutely destroyed rental markets, created artificial housing shortages, and driven up rents. It causes problems for neighbours and neighbourhoods. It also has serious issues with customer service and customer safety.
I don't see a way to reform this system or build something on this model if you care about safety, privacy and housing equity.
*Don't fanboy for AirBnB in my mentions, pls.
@ShaulaEvans I can vaguely see where people are going, but I reckon the problem is comparing whatever the fedi could create with Airbnb (which does indeed suck).
There are communities that connect worldwide and provide accommodation to strangers who are members of the same community. I used to be in an industry where there was a strong culture of accommodating travelling workers in the same industry. Bike touring people do this and I've heard Esperanto speakers do too. Naturists have a different system that also results in cheap, safe, very simple accommodation wherever you go.
In theory fedi users (/a subset of) could become another community that does something like this.
I think people tend to mention airbnb when discussing these sorts of ideas because it has almost universal recognition. But as you say, it's a terrible model. There are many far better ones out there.
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@ShaulaEvans I can vaguely see where people are going, but I reckon the problem is comparing whatever the fedi could create with Airbnb (which does indeed suck).
There are communities that connect worldwide and provide accommodation to strangers who are members of the same community. I used to be in an industry where there was a strong culture of accommodating travelling workers in the same industry. Bike touring people do this and I've heard Esperanto speakers do too. Naturists have a different system that also results in cheap, safe, very simple accommodation wherever you go.
In theory fedi users (/a subset of) could become another community that does something like this.
I think people tend to mention airbnb when discussing these sorts of ideas because it has almost universal recognition. But as you say, it's a terrible model. There are many far better ones out there.
. The underlying problem of helping people find accomoodations is the kind of thing that's a natural for social media in general and fedi in particular (althoiugh challenging, especially when taking safety into account) ... AirBnB's approach is the emobodiment of predatory late capitalism, so let's not go that route!
