AirBnB may be the canary in the coalmine for tech, maybe more than the privacy issues surrounding the majority of the current tech business models.
The industry idolizes "disruption" without taking any responsibility for the negative side-effects. However, in the case of AirBnB, these side-effects don't just affect an incumbent industry, but the private lives of completely innocent ordinary people, who live in the same buildings that are used as makeshift hotels.
Illegal and semi-legal subletting is a big enough nuisance as it is in major tourist destinations (I live in one), and AirBnB is making the problem exponentially worse.
A similar narrative applies to the presence of Uber in places with a decently regulate taxi system.
The industry idolizes "disruption" without taking any responsibility for the negative side-effects. However, in the case of AirBnB, these side-effects don't just affect an incumbent industry, but the private lives of completely innocent ordinary people, who live in the same buildings that are used as makeshift hotels.
Illegal and semi-legal subletting is a big enough nuisance as it is in major tourist destinations (I live in one), and AirBnB is making the problem exponentially worse.
A similar narrative applies to the presence of Uber in places with a decently regulate taxi system.
Not all disruption is good.