Traveling before the 1960s was regarded as a luxury only rich people could afford.
It wasn’t until the Beat Generation after WWII, as the hipster spirit started emerging as a distinct form of American sub-culture, when travel attained a new meaning among the younger generation. Since Kerouac’s “On The Road” triggered an upsurge in backpacking, people started seeing travels as more of an adventure rather than leisure.
Five-star hotel services, wine and dine on the beach, or a day soaking in hot springs took a backseat—if one only aims at seeing other parts of the world and experiencing their culture, even a plane ticket can be less than necessary.
Time passes and many nowadays would say that the spirit embodied in the hipster culture is fading in this society, yet the traveling purpose of “self-reliance” and “cultural exchange” has, on the contrary, gotten stronger and even became rather fashionable in the 21st century. One of the most famous results of this trend is Airbnb, in which “bnb” stands for “bed and breakfast”.
As many already know, Airbnb is a platform for travelers to find local hosts who would like to rent out their own home for a short time period. The purpose of this platform is to provide travelers a living experience on a more local level, rather than a hotel where typically the whole indigenous atmosphere is cut off. Hosts and travelers are supposed to befriend with each other, and expectation from the travelers to the hosts are supposed to be less of spotless hospitality and friendship based on mutual benefit and respect.
This idea is perfect for people who value the true experience of local life and wish to learn more of the local culture rather than simply going on a relaxing vacation.
However, despite the benevolent purposes of Airbnb, it is, after all, linked more or less to commercial benefits, for the housing is still paid and the price is decided almost entirely by the hosts. Gradually, it became largely profit-oriented, like all other industries where people see profit can be multiplied if done correctly.
For one of the consequences of the commercialization of Airbnb, professional Airbnb hosts began to surface on this platform, even small hotels started seeking customers here.
Smart hosts divide up rooms of all their properties and put up multiple rooms on the website. They themselves are never there, but the property is bringing them almost five times a hotel room’s profit.
Over time, I noticed that the amount–as well as the prices–of these housing sources are increasing drastically, while genuine hosts who are willing to invite you into their home and enjoy cultural exchange with the traveler, are becoming rarer and rarer.
The other sad fact is that the commercialization of Airbnb has changed the expectations of travelers towards their housing and their hosts—the rooms are charged in the fashion of hotel rooms, then the travelers naturally demand hotel room standard hospitality in response. I spoke to a previous Airbnb host who was expecting the true experience of the Airbnb ideology but was discouraged and eventually quit this platform. He was constantly asked by the travelers for services which he struggled to offer to their satisfaction. “I love to get my travelers as comfortable as I can,” he says, “but I’m not a professional hotel manager, after all.”
