I just don't think city councils are going to be able to put a billion dollar genie back in the bottle.
Airbnb is a p2p market. When regulation attacks p2p markets, they don't die, they adapt.
Airbnb itself might die like Napster, but someone else will find a way to take their place. Maybe the company that replaces it will be based outside US borders, safe from any subpoena for rental records.
> When regulation attacks p2p markets, they don't die, they adapt.
I think we've seen that iteration with craigslist -> apts/housing -> short-term/sub-lease, and in many popular destinations the space was prone to scams and shady dealers.
Exactly. This is the same thing as rubber-hose cryptanalysis--if somebody can get hold of that meat carrier for your brilliant brain, they can figure out what you're doing. And so AirBNB will lose. (They've knuckled under wherever confronted.) So will the next one.
Airbnb is a p2p market. When regulation attacks p2p markets, they don't die, they adapt.
Airbnb itself might die like Napster, but someone else will find a way to take their place. Maybe the company that replaces it will be based outside US borders, safe from any subpoena for rental records.