zlacker

The inverse of this is that in the early days, you’re getting amazing value while these unicorns burn through billions scaling up. Airbnb 5+ years ago have incredible value for money, as did Uber and more recently some of the eBike/scooter companies.

>>smugma+(OP)
Enjoy the freebies, just recognize when it’s time to move on because the org is played out and everyone has cashed out.

(Also consider that the value you mention is occasionally driven by ZIRP monetary policy leading to VC capital infusions we may never see again at the scale previously seen; WeWork, Uber, etc)

>>smugma+(OP)
True, I only had good experiences with Airbnb, but last time I used it was summer 2019. With the post-pandemic travel and remote work boom, as well as the tech market downturn, the risk for bad experiences likely has increased a lot.

>>smugma+(OP)
You might get some VC subsidised cheap rides or a lower cost stay. But zooming out, what is the wider effect on our economy of allocating billions of capital in the attempt to build virtual monopolies?

This money could and should be better spent elsewhere, on actual productive assets and activities, rather than pushing for digital rentiership.