The author of an article on businessinsider.com claims to have noticed the shift. He has been using the platform for almost 10 years and has slept in more than 30 countries. He claims the service originally made travelling much more affordable, but nowadays people may start using it less and less.
Pillows that don’t offer the best sleep
Today, hosts often operate in multiple locations. What started as the occasional renting of one’s apartment has turned into a service that is professionally managed. Beds are equipped with low-quality pillows, which don’t allow for a good night’s sleep. People wouldn’t seriously buy lousy pillows for themselves, since pillows are essential for a good sleep. This is a sign of professionalisation.
Does a complaint about pillows mean the business is doomed?
Yes, it really does come down to pillows. People used to rent a spare bedroom or apartment that was temporarily empty. They provided you with some tips on their favourite places in the neighbourhood and there was a communal vibe. Today, people rent apartments for their living.
Shift toward professional hosts
Recently, Airbnb has tried to standardise its listed services: cleanliness and essential amenities are all described. But the idealistic home-sharing roots have been abandoned. What is listed today are more like cheaper, ad-hoc hotels. From a user perspective, all the properties are slowly beginning to resemble one another. There is cheap furniture, cheap bedding, minimal decorations and a kitchen equipped only with necessities. However, the worst aspect are those cheap pillows.
Airbnb must decide whether it wants to return to the home-sharing ideal it initially began with, or push for even more standardisation. Hotels currently competing with Airbnb usually provide comfortable pillows of good quality.
-jk-