> But here’s where the ECJ’s logic is harder to reject. Uber determines the price of the ride; Airbnb doesn’t set the rent. Uber sends an order to a specific driver; Airbnb merely provides a prospective guest with a list of properties. Uber, according to Thursday’s ruling, exercises “decisive influence” over the transaction. That’s not the case with Airbnb.
> That’s quite a powerful argument. Airbnb’s hands-off role — renters deal directly with hosts throughout the process — makes it less than a real estate agent. It actually has a good reason to define itself as an information provider rather than a deal facilitator.
> One can imagine what the Uber app would look like if the company operated like Airbnb. A rider would enter her location and destination and get a list of drivers with their fare bids and distances from the starting point. Then the rider would make her choice based on the combination of price and arrival speed. That would make Uber an information provider rather than a taxi service.
> That’s quite a powerful argument. Airbnb’s hands-off role — renters deal directly with hosts throughout the process — makes it less than a real estate agent. It actually has a good reason to define itself as an information provider rather than a deal facilitator.
> One can imagine what the Uber app would look like if the company operated like Airbnb. A rider would enter her location and destination and get a list of drivers with their fare bids and distances from the starting point. Then the rider would make her choice based on the combination of price and arrival speed. That would make Uber an information provider rather than a taxi service.
I mean, yeah. I agree 100% with this.