Omg. Sadly, this is the direction Airbnb is going.

[Jennifer2682]

[Lorna170]

@Jennifer2682   My crazy idea:  have a cozy cabin property that former guests rave about, is accessible via the website and affordable.

[Jennifer2682]

OMG!  Guests would LOVE that!  Oh wait, guests HAVE loved that.  Too bad they can't find us anymore.

[Nancy1633]

@Lorna170 

I have one of those, too.  Unfortunately, my bookings fell off a cliff because AirBnb prefers to hawk giant potatoes, yellow submarines and Arctic treehouses. 

"OMG! WOW! COOL! Let me book that potato!"

Does Chesky realize he's turning his business into a punchline?

[Huma0]

"Our most popular Airbnbs are the craziest..."

Define "popular" Brian. Do you mean that the most clicked on? Most reposted on social media? Do you mean those listings are consistently booked?

More importantly, do you mean that MORE guests overall book those crazy listings as compared to the type of listing that @Lorna170 describes? Erm, would love to see the statistics on that...

[Maggie-and-Norm0]

Is this really true? Are they really paying for crazy? OMG

[Huma0]

@Maggie-and-Norm0 

I don't know how much of it they will end up paying out for it to be honest.

The payments are broken down into three stages: creative, design development, construction. The winners have to complete each stage satisfactorily to get those payments, not just come up with a crazy idea. There are probably all sorts of hurdles in terms of local government planning permissions, labour and materials shortages (nightmare where I live with that that stuff since COVID, Brexit and the war in Ukraine), plus any other costs have to be covered by the applicant. In London, $100 doesn't actually go that far.

Basically, it's more of a PR stunt than anything else.

[Lorna170]

@Jennifer2682   I think I will add a Cinderella bouncy castle. Sleeps 16. 

[Annie1372]

@Huma0 @Maggie-and-Norm0 

Unfortunately, it looks pretty real written like this

https://news.airbnb.com/omgfund/

[Huma0]

@Annie1372 

Oh, it's real, but what I was saying is that, if you read the T&Cs of the competition, it's not as straightforward as simply submitting a crazy idea. The funds are released in three stages. Stage one is the creative, stage two design development and stage three is the build. There are all sorts of reasons why some of the ten winning entries won't manage to get to the final stage, including issues with planning permission and budgets. Airbnb is putting $100,000 towards each build, but building and renovation costs can quickly spiral out of control, especially in today's economic climate. 

[Annie1372]

@Huma0 

I fully agree with your points

[Christine615]

Marketing. Unless the OMG structure already exists, is made of paper mache or is the size of a thimble, $100,000 isn’t enough to build much of anything new in today’s economy. And taxes will eat a lot of it up.

But still a clever marketing idea.

[BenkaandKeith0]

Hey Brian, where are you getting the money to fund the fund? 

[Sudsrung0]

I dont know about you guys, but $100k wont go very far, even here in Thailand my apartment cost more than that