https://whyashwin.github.io/airbnb_v1/
A few days back, I was planning to list a property on Airbnb in a tier-2 Indian city.
As an MBA and product manager, my instinct was to study the market before investing time and money.
That’s when I noticed something intriguing.
And honestly, a little frustrating.
On Airbnb in smaller Indian cities:
– Top listings dominate visibility due to more number of reviews/ratings → More trust
– These properties surge prices, especially in peak seasons
– New but worthy listings get buried under low trust and zero bookings
Over time, this snowballs into something bigger:
❌ Budget-conscious travelers exit to OTAs like MakeMyTrip and to standard guest-houses and hotels
❌ Risk-averse users pay a premium for highly-rated listings — reducing exploration
❌ New hosts lose confidence
❌ The market becomes monopolized and expensive
📉 Airbnb's Total Addressable Market (TAM) in this segment shrinks
📉 And as a marketplace, it's losing its essence, failing to offer fair visibility and opportunity to new supply
Let’s be honest, Airbnb can’t (and shouldn’t) directly control host pricing.