Charlie Hubbard
Aug 31, 2018 · 1 min read

Airbnb is past its prime. Now they won’t go away anytime soon. They’re pretty big. But they are trending down in lots of ways.

I live in Thailand and travel a lot regionally. Recently I’ve discovered that in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City I can get nice, full service, discount hotels for about the same price as an Airbnb flat in similar neighborhoods. Why would I not take the hotel where they make your bed every day and have a restaurant?

My last trip to HCMC, a month ago, I was with a friend who used to be an Airbnb renter. He managed 20 apartments in Bangkok. It is no longer a viable way to make a living for him, too much competition and government regulatory interference.

I have a yoga studio in Bangkok. I went throught a process to get my studio listed on Airbnb’s “Experiences”. It took six weeks. Airbnb is a lumbering corporate giant with its feet tied together. They are no longer the grass roots tech innovator they once were. When they finally approved my Experience, I had discovered Meetup.com where I got my studio listed in under an hour. And I was getting good results. I declined the Airbnb offer.

They were very surpirsed. I think they are in store for lots of surprisies going forward. Don’t lose any sleep over this. They kind of suck.

Charlie Hubbard

Written by

Former FDNY Lieutenant, 911 Veteran, Writer, Yoga Teacher living in Bangkok.