Airnb, the vacation rental San Fran company, which has until this year been a runaway success, privately valued at $31 billion, is moving into uncharted territory. With Covid showing no signs of slowing down and air travel becoming less attractive possibly for several years ahead their commission-based business is certain to be less lucrative.
Founded 11 August 2008, it has a Leo Sun opposition Neptune; with a hard-driving Mars in Virgo opposition Uranus square Pluto. That latter T Square is moving into a swampy three years with undermining Neptune transits first conjunct the Uranus in 2021, then in a panicky-failure opposition to Mars in 2022, then on to square the Pluto undercutting its power base. 2021 looks additionally disaster-strewn from April onwards with the Mars/Pluto midpoint getting elbowed by tr Saturn and tr Uranus; plus a jolting Solar Arc Saturn opposition the Uranus. There’s perhaps a momentary lift in 2023 but then a car-crash setback in 2025. Not looking great.
Two of the founders were born within days of each other. Brian Chesky, 29 August 1981, is a New Moon Virgo with the Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Libra and a ruthless, uber-determined Mars square Pluto. He’s looking shell-shocked at the moment with upheavals and disruptions in 2021 and a mountainous uphill struggle by 2022/23 with the trapped and enraged tr Pluto opposition his Mars.
Joe Gubbia, 21 August 1981 is a Sun Leo trine Neptune, sextile Pluto and square Uranus with Jupiter Saturn together in Libra and another do-or-die-determined Mars square Pluto. He’s aggravated now, facing obstacles in 2021 and seriously jangled by 2023.
They may have to put their clearly inventive thinking caps on and dream up a new project for a new age.
As someone who lives in a popular California beach community surrounded by vacation rentals, I can add that local residents are fed up with the destruction of our residential communities, mainly for the benefit of outside investors totally motivated by huge profits. We’re fighting back against these rental platforms and are starting to make some headway, especially in view of the loss of housing in areas on desperate need of more housing. I’m delighted that the astrology supports a decline in these companies.
@Nicole, I feel you! Something like this was happening in my town-center hip neighborhood with usually smaller (300 to 500 sq) apartments. These used to be rented to students and young single people valuing the location which was exactly why the place became fashionable. But many got turned into Airbnb’s in the last 5 or so years, which started taking some vibrancy out of the place. Now, we start to see many of the “flipped” apartments listed.
To Jo
Yes, I mean virtual reality. With fear of pandemics and technology’s progress, people will probably spend less time travelling and more time in mixed reality at home with digital tools or developing their mental enlightenment – that’s part and parcel of the Aquarian Age, isn’t it?
Not looking great…. that’s also what I thought.
Air travel and hordes of tourists now seem so 20th century! The travel industry may transition to digital.
How do you mean ‘to digital’? Do you mean background ambience or something, or virtual reality?
According to Whois.net, which refers to the ICANN database, airbnb.com was first reserved and paid for on
Creation Date: 2008-08-05T07:29:00Z
Z means UTC.
Thus, Airbnb was ‘started’ as a web company when it first reserved its URL/web name on August 5, 2008 at 00:29 (12:29am) San Francisco Time.
Interesting timing ahead for this business, one of the many “disruptors” we’ve seen in recent years. I remember, Marjorie, that you looked at some travel company charts earlier this year – possibly in February? They all seemed to show a similar time frame when it came to difficulties ahead. Also noticed Pluto at 22 Libra, ripe for the disruption of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in January.
Airbnb will have to change anyway, they have caused all manner of local problems in many areas in many countries. Mars, Uranus, Pluto….there’s been a fair amount of crime and nasty events surrounding their house rentals. Something about the business model doesn’t work for the communities it inhabits. I’ve used “Home Stay” in India with great success in the past, also other “At Home in…” set ups in the past before things got so slick. These were very low key, and in my own experience the hosts were always there somewhere too.
It’s amazing to think that my parents rented holiday homes for us all without any internet, just a phone and letters!