Top 3 Learnings from our San Francisco Course

1. Improving Customer Service is a common recommendation for many platforms in the sharing economy. After listening to all four presentations, I noticed that most if not all groups made recommendations regarding customer service. Many platforms bury the direct contact information within layers of FAQ and help pages (Airbnb), while others offer a direct customer service phone number but the response time is slow and the representative isn’t that helpful (HomeAway). It’s important for all platforms design a straightforward, simple flow to their customer service centers on both the website and the mobile app, as well prepare to scale for their growing customer base. Afterall, there is nothing more frustrating than having expectations for an on-demand service set by the company, and then having trouble using the service when you are ready to give it a try. 
   
2. Excess Capacity. I took away a lot from our meeting with GWU alumnus, Noah Karesh, at Feastly. Although I knew that opening and maintaining a successful restaurant was difficult, I had no idea how small of a profit margin (Noah stated about 2-6%) restaurants have. It was the identification of this inefficiency that got Noah to start the Blind Dog Cafe, a pop-up cafe located within an established bar in Washington DC. The Blind Dog Cafe was able to operate out of an existing space that wasn’t being used except in the evenings. This same thinking, which was identified in Peers Inc. as ‘excess capacity’, ultimately led Noah to create Feastly. Since starting this course, I constantly look to identify where and in what systems within my personal, profession, social, and educational lives there is excess capacity and how I can make more efficient use of it.

   

   Blind Dog Cafe operated in an established bar during 7am-4pm when the space wasn't being used.

3. In the Sharing Economy, fixing something over here might ‘blow something else up’ over there. This was a concept introduced to our class by ‘True Mike’ of Uber. As a project manager, he would work to solve an issue in one area of the platform and that would often ‘blow something up’ or create another problem in another area of platform. This concept made me think about Airbnb’s creation of the Instant Book feature as a way to counter various forms of discrimination by hosts. With Instant Book, guests who have over 10 reviews from a host and a high average rating can instantly book any property without prior approval from the hosts. However, now many hosts, particularly single women, are concerned and upset about losing the ability to screen potentially undesirable guests. This cycle is a big challenge for all of the sharing economy industries and I believe it will continue to happen despite of the best  preemptive measures.

Transportation - Top Three Learnings

It is difficult to choose just three things I learned from this course. Already, it is impossible for me to use an application or website and not immediately start to critique its design and usability. I think platforms need to pay even more attention to these aspects moving forward, especially for younger generations that have grown up in the world of the internet (and cellphones). To sum it up, websites and applications are gateways for platforms to facilitate business and therefore must be seamless.  

Before taking this course, I never really paid attention to different phases of my experiences. Moving forward, I feel that it will be almost impossible to not be constantly evaluating my experiences as they happen. With that, I hope I can still enjoy them!

Finally, I have a better understanding of an industry that I knew existed, but didn't fully understand. For example, I never thought I would have a stranger cook for me at their home. My reasoning was that I didn't know the person and how could I trust them. The same thing can be said for going to a random restaurant. The biggest thing about the shared economy is the lack of awareness and assimilation. I believe that over time, people will become more comfortable with what these platforms are offering and the shared economy will become very popular for every industry.

In building from my initial thread about my career, I believe this course will undoubtedly shape the decisions I make moving forward professionally. I have a great appreciation for what the shared economy is doing and know that I want to be a part of it in the near future (either by joining or starting my own platform).

Cheers!

Top Three Learnings

The top 3 things that I learned from this course are:

1. There are new economic drivers in place that are rapidly transforming the traditional business landscape into a platform driven economy that reduces humankind's impact on the environment by increasing utilization of resources. Legal and tax infrastructure are struggling to keep pace with these transformations but all things evolve - eventually.

2. The peer-to-peer economy is creating many opportunities for peers to:

• Reduce living expenses by shedding unnecessary assets and purchasing access to these assets only when needed 
• Turn primarily unused assets into sources of income generation
• Live more meaningful lives by living for experiences instead of possessions

3.  People are "more good than not". This is the fundamental principle the P2P/access/sharing economy is built upon. Too many times it becomes easy to get wrapped up in the latest terrorist attack, local robbery, or jerk in the next car. When we know others are watching us and grading our behavior, people are generally more good than not. Over the course of our field work time in San Francisco, we have come into contact with many people who have entrusted us with their time and assets and likewise we have depended on them to deliver on their promises. In every case for me personally, the peers on the other side of the transaction delivered reinforcing principle.

Reflections on Uber

The Uber site visit provided a small glimpse into an interesting company that continues to disrupt the transportation industry as we know it through their innovative offerings. Uber leverages their position as platform provider to use collected data in interesting ways such as statistically predicting rider/driver compatibility. I particularly liked hearing about Uber's "Landing Party" teams (a reference to the small focused away teams portrayed in Star Trek) which are assembled from various human resources throughout their highly matrixed organization to tackle problems using their "double diamond approach".
My impressions of Uber prior to the visit were of a company focused on rider quality without much consideration for driver issues. The site visit did very little to change this perception despite many assurances to the contrary. Uber, though allowing both drivers rate passengers, admitted that no passengers had been removed from the platform furthering the notion of a lack of concern for driver issues. Interestingly, a few days after the Uber site visit, Bloomberg published article citing how Uber was rolling out driverless cars in Pittsburgh (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-18/uber-s-first-self-driving-fleet-arrives-in-pittsburgh-this-month-is06r7on).

Transportation - Getaround Customer Journey

One of our group's customer experiences included Getaround. Getaround is an on-demand car sharing platform that allows car owners to rent to other peers. Our experience in San Francisco was fantastic. We were staying at an airbnb in Sea Cliff and wanted to check out Sausalito. In just a matter of minutes, we pulled up the Getaround application and could see all the cars in the neighborhood available for rent. I felt excited because of the flexible hours and the diverse selection of cars. The total price of the car was $10 less because I already paid the license fee the first time I used the platform.

Once we reserved the car, we were able to walk to an Audi A4 right around the corner. The car was in great shape both inside and outside which kicked the trip off on a positive note. Since this was the second time I used the platform, I was a little less nervous about driving someone else's car. In addition, the car handled very well which made the driving experience very enjoyable. Both the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito were very cool which enhanced the experience overall. The quick afternoon trip gave us a nice break from all our project work.

Again, as with my first experience, street parking was an issue. I was able to find a spot near where I picked the car up, but I was anxious because of the massive hill I had to park on. In addition, had I not turned the wheel towards the curb, the car would have been ticketed. This detail was not included in the driver instructions and I had only noticed by looking at all the other cars on the street.

Some key insights for the platform are as follows. The platform needs to ensure driver instructions include important details that tourists might not know (local laws). In addition, the platform needs to address how to end a trip. Because I had used the application before, I knew that I just needed to park the car before the end of the time allotted. However, it still felt like I was doing something wrong by parking the car and just walking away. These two adjustments would greatly improve the customer journey for peers using the platform.

Airbnb Office Visit - Meeting with Chip Conley

Airbnb office visit was the part that I’ve always been expecting before the trip and it turns out to be the most worthwhile part ever. Meeting with Chip Conley, the Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy for Airbnb, is definitely the best part during the visit. Chip’s job is to help Airbnb regulate hospitality standards, improve guests’ satisfaction on the entire trip and evolve Airbnb into a full-fledged hospitality company.

Chip stated that hospitality is the most important direction that the company is working on although it is also the most difficult part at the same time. “How can we deliver hospitality when we don’t have any employee?” said Chip. As the hosting community is growing in a fast pace, it is of vital importance for Airbnb to ensure the quality delivered by hosts. To make the Airbnb guest experience more consistent from stay to stay and more reliable, he had created nine hospitality standards for hosts to follow – communication, check-in, accuracy, cleanliness, etc. The host-guest reciprocal review system is also essential for Airbnb to conduct quality control and track guest satisfaction. It’s interesting to know that 70% to 75% guests and hosts on Airbnb review each other while there are only less than 10% guests leave reviews for average hotels. Airbnb has a proper feedback loop which normal hotels don’t have. Guests and hosts are encouraged to leave reviews to each other after each stay. They can’t see the review left by the other party until they write a review too. All the reviews are open to public for future guests to look at before they make a reservation. The opaque review platform turns the worst characteristics (non employees personal hosts) to the best opportunities.

When Chip was asked about the competition with hotels industry, he confidently said that Airbnb perfectly fits the gap in the travel industry so it aims to become a global super brand of travel not only an alternative to hotel. He said that travelers want unique and personalized travel experience that most of the global hotel chains cannot afford. That’s why the concept of Airbnb – live like a local – works really well in the industry. Also, a research shows that people live with Airbnb tend to spend longer time to explore the city than regular hotel guests. We have enough reason to believe firmly that Aibnb is the market trends.

Chip is a charismatic leader. I can see the enthusiasm, passion and hospitality emanated from him. Thanks to this great opportunity that I can learn directly from the famous hospitality guru.

The Dual Experiences of P2P Car Sharing on Turo

Peer-to-peer car sharing through Turo delivers on its promise to give renters affordable access to a desired transportation experience. The mobile app and website project vivid images of experiences created by off-road outdoor adventures, elite rentals, or fuel efficient excursions in a variety of locations. Selecting a desired experience opens up a wonderful world of vehicle options that can be further tailored to meet the individual tastes or desires of the renter. Each vehicle listing is deliberately given a personal touch using images of the vehicle combined with the owner's first name and picture.

Jessica's 2013 Range Rover Evoque was responsible for delivering some of my experiences during my stay in San Francisco. I first made arrangements to rent Jessica's vehicle during my layover at LAX. I simply provided Jessica my flight details and she made arrangements to pick me up from San Francisco International airport which is only a couple of exits away from her house.

San Francisco Experience brought to you by Jessica's 2013 Range Rover 

Evoque

During my flight and corresponding communication blackout, Jessica had another matter come up that required her to be somewhere else so she sent her uncle, a very sweet 73 year old recent immigrant from the Philippines, to pick me up and handle the exchange. The experience was fantastic with a wonderfully personal exchange that felt like a close friend picking me up from the airport. The vehicle was clean inside and out and Jessica later called me to apologize for not being able to personally exchange the vehicle. In talking with Jessica, I soon realized that all engagements on the Turo platform really consist of at least two experiences - one for the renter and one for the owner. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and interview Jessica for insights into her perspectives on the P2P experience through Turo.


During my interview, Jessica stated that she initially found Turo through Facebook and has listed her vehicle there for the past 14 months. She typically accepts about 2-3 rentals per month but has learned that demand can be very seasonal in nature in San Francisco. Jessica's feels that the uniqueness of her vehicle combined with her proximity to the airport (which enables her to offer free airport delivery) have greatly contributed to her success on the Turo platform.
Jessica also expressed some frustrations that she has experienced including a negative rating she once received when she had to cancel just prior to a rental exchange because her check engine light came on. She felt it was in the renter's best interest not to take the car if there was a potential problem but her rating took a hit still the same. Another frustration Jessica voiced was focused on the exchange headaches that are caused by flight delays and the impact those delays can have on other aspects of her personal life. Equally disruptive, last minute cancellations by renters can also leave one with a sense of wasted time when other plans are cancelled or deferred in anticipation of an exchange that never happens.
Jessica stated that she typically uses past ratings of renters to determine whether or not she will accept a rental request which mitigates some but not all of these risks. In my case, I had no past ratings so she based her decision purely on the friendliness and tone of the rental request. Finally, Jessica said that overall, her experience with Turo has been really positive and that the platform has taught her that there are "more good people in the world than not."

Turo Rental Counter: Jessica's Range Rover at her House

About 2 hours prior to our agreed upon return time for Jessica's Range Rover, I received a gentle reminder in the form of a text message from Turo. I refueled the vehicle and cleaned out any trash prior to returning the vehicle to Jessica's driveway. As I handed her the keys, Jessica offered me coffee, bottled water, and a ride to the airport which I politely declined. We stood outside in her driveway talking about life and her uncle while I waited for my Uber to arrive and take me to my next adventure. In thinking back, I realize that Turo not only allowed me to create experiences through using a vehicle but also through the process of exchanging that vehicle within a community of friends that are "more good...than not."