11 Mar 2017

The Upstarts: Uber and Airbnb

From This Way Up, 12:30 pm on 11 March 2017

The ride-sharing app Uber and the accommodation booking service Airbnb have both proved seriously disruptive to traditional business models.

Journalist Brad Stone went behind the scenes at both companies to look look at how they're doing it.

airbnb logo

Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE AFP

Not just for taxi companies and cabbies, and the governments and city councils worried about the availability of affordable housing, but for you and me too. They've made the idea of getting a lift in a complete stranger's car or sleeping in their bed seem normal, easy and cost-effective.

Meanwhile, just as Amazon has transformed itself from an online bookstore to a gigantic online hypermarket, Uber and Airbnb have ambitious plans to own your travel and transport experiences.

Brad Stone is the author of The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World.