Comments on: Why Avis just made a big bet on the future of cars as a service

By: realist50

realist50 — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:36:46 +0000

I’ll second Cdog, and say that I’m not sure why Ms. Fehrenbacher uses the term “sharing” for what are really “short-term rentals” in the case of both ZipCar and Airbnb.

I would also temper enthusiasm about Airbnb until we see how the legal / zoning issues of short-term house and apartment rentals are resolved over the next few years. In a sense, it’s a business model that can become a victim of its own success because homeowners and landlords start worrying more about short-term rentals as it becomes more common and they see a neighboring house, or one of their apartments, effectively turned into a hotel.

By: Cdog

Cdog — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 03:07:24 +0000

Zipcar is not a car sharing service. It’s just a slightly more clever distribution method for rental cars enabled by technology. Good for Avis and Good for ZipCar, but the real disruptive players are just getting started with real sharing business models that cut out the capital intensity required by traditional rental cars.

By: Dan Callahan

Dan Callahan — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:20:25 +0000

I’m not yet sold on the sharing phenomenon. I agree that sharing (especially cars) has its “green” angle, but 1) want to see how the liability issues play out and 2) want to see evidence that there is a market beyond young urban professionals.

My concern as an investor would be that these companies exist because it is relatively easy to create a sharing application. How such a company grows beyond its initial sharing application is open to question.

Dan Callahan