Airbnb Shows Resilience in a Business Model
You can call this resilience in a business model: Airbnb is showing that it can pivot into other things depending on the challenges which come before it. Yes, while the traditional booking has cooled, those escaping from congested cities and Covid-19-ravaged domains are providing new sources of revenue.
Airbnb bookings took a hit in the early days of the pandemic as travel came to a virtual standstill, yet fears that the crisis would lead to its demise are proving untrue. As the company filed to go public Monday, it revealed that while revenue dipped more than 30% year over year, it posted a third-quarter profit of $219 million. The company's rebound is being propelled by increasing numbers of travelers seeking refuge from the pandemic by booking local escapes and home rentals outside of big cities for longer stays. That shift "has been a boon for Airbnb’s core business," according to Yahoo Finance.
You can also connect the Airbnb story to the adaptation in the recycling industry, where new types of wastes are being used, since the volume of office paper wastes dropped due to the pandemic.
From takeout containers to Amazon boxes, Americans are generating more trash as they stay at home during the pandemic — and it’s “recharging the U.S. market for recycled paper and cardboard.” Residential refuse has become a “hot commodity” as the paper industry seeks out alternatives amid a scarcity of recycled office paper. While U.S. mills have historically avoided low-quality mixed paper from curbside recycling programs, the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom has increased the share of delivery boxes in recycling bins, making residential mixed paper attractive for recycling.