AirBNB: Strategic Challenges, Pros and Cons, and Recommendations

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Airbnb
Airbnb is an American company that employs the sharing economy platform to execute its mandate. Founded in 2008, the company lets individuals rent out accommodation and uses the online market platform for consumers to access short-term rentals for rooms or houses. Airbnb works on the same platform as Uber or Lyft, which constitutes inputs from a range of stakeholders in a shared business platform. With a presence in more than 220 nations and over 7 million listings, Airbnb is becoming an ideal business and solution platform for multiple stakeholders. Understanding AirBnB constitutes a series of issues ranging from the stability of sharing economy to the challenge of security/privacy that remains a concern in the industry. With advancements in technology, sharing economy platforms are booming. However, the associated challenges could be worth exploring for stakeholders and even future entrants.
Strategic Challenges
There are notable strategic challenges that face the operations of Airbnb. The primary challenge is the coordination of activities among multiple individuals. As noted, Airbnb operates in the sharing economy platform (Ki 4108). That implies that the organization is largely a facilitator of operations because it does not own the properties. Further, that means that AirBnB can only control activities or aspects such as quality of services mildly. The second factor of concern is safety. Consumers and those who list properties are unassured of the safety of themselves or their properties. Airbnb does not conduct a conclusive background check on the customers, which can be questionable if conducted to customers and threatening if not to the property owners. Still, it remains a challenge for people to let strangers live in their houses. In cases where property owners accept to rent out, the surrounding residences and neighbors could feel unsafe.
Pros and Cons
Airbnb’s operations are characterized by various benefits and drawbacks. The primary benefit that comes with Airbnb is protection both for guests and hosts. Considering the possibilities of fraud in online marketing platforms, Airbnb holds the guests’ payment for at least 24 hours before they release the money to the hosts (Guttentag 182). Within that period, the guests can reverse their payments if the services do not meet their expectations. For any unreasonable damages inflicted on the property, the company offers up to $1 million to the hosts as a caution (Steurer, Robert, and...