And it's very likely that AirBnB restrictions will increase post-COVID19 to eliminate a lot of the apartment units that were (illegally) converted to AirBnB units, and that enforcement of existing AirBnB restrictions in cities like NY and LA will increase dramatically, both for safety reasons and to protect the hotel companies that actually employ workers, pay hotel taxes, and contribute to the local economy.
But Bird/Lime are in deep trouble, and not just because of cost of the scooters they own. Who is going to rent one, not knowing the health status of the previous renter?
I'd be much more comfortable using a scooter because I can just wipe down the handles. I have no idea what's going on in someone else's house, and in my experience AirBnB hosts are pretty shitty about cleaning up their properties even though they make you pay for it.
Sure, you can wipe down the handles, if you brought wipes with you. That makes it a lot more spontaneous to use, though (unless you carry wipes everywhere, which is in fact a reasonable thing to do).
I understand your point about hosts bearing the brunt of the costs, but that's comparing AirBnB the business to AirBnB the users. I was comparing AirBnB the business to Bird/Lime the business, because that was a juxtaposition you made in your original comment.
Anyway, agree to disagree I guess.
The scooter companies might have less reserves though, and their market is probably oversaturated even in good times.
Bird/lime own their inventory.
Airbnb is better off than the hotel chains IMO. The hotel chains have to keep paying their staff and rent while revenue drops, but airbnb just sees the revenue drop.
It exposes the people who bought properties to list on airbnb on aggressive margins or like the example in the article of someone buying a car just to put on the platform. I wonder how much rental prices will be affected when the properties that were bought to use for airbnb are brought back to the long-term rental market.