Airbnb was founded in 2008 and was the most cutting-edge social infrastructure platform for home sharing platforms of its time. During the same month and year, the blockchain whitepaper came into being, which was new technology that called for middleman elimination in business models. Blockchain slowly became the new startup model, across multiple industries. And, one day, blockchain home sharing can destroy Airbnb.
Beenest Can Destroy Airbnb
Most millennials these days are familiar with Airbnb. Airbnb allows you to rent rooms at a lower price than hotels in most cases; and, if the prices are higher than hotels, most likely it is because the rooms have more amenities. The application allows hosts to rent out vacant rooms or entire places. This service, in turn, helps the real estate owners collect cash flow on properties that they might not be using themselves.
Now, a competitor has emerged. While in the traditional setup, Airbnb represents the middleman that receives a commission, this new competitor’s platform is decentralized; it uses blockchain technology.
The blockchain app, Beenest, works with The Bee Token, which is like a token that you can use to pay for arcade games, except that in this case you can use it to pay for accommodations. Beenest is transparent and easy-to-use.
The Bee Token
The Bee Token is the next-level concept for the current home sharing industry. This token allows for a peer-to-peer network of payments, eliminating the commission for the middleman. Because reviews will be on the blockchain, the peer reviews are immutable and cannot be changed or easily altered.
Because it is not charging commissions, the Beenest platform is planning to make its money in other ways. One way is to license its tech to other startups. Additionally, Beenest is encouraging the use of its Bee Token by charging 1%-2% fees if users try to use Bitcoin or Ethereum instead of its own token. Thus, growing use of its token can encourage a growing network of users on the platform. Platform success can also mean growing interest from other startups in the industry.
We believe that blockchain-based models are the next level for businesses in fields such as home sharing. This is because we have lived through the Great Recession era, where the middlemen (aka banks and other payment systems) have failed to maintain the trust of their customers. Today, we believe that there is a future need for blockchain and decentralized infrastructures, to prevent the abuse of trust.
