The Airbnb Nightmare And More On CHOM 97.7 FM

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am on air at CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – about everything that is happening in the world of technology, digital media and culture. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering on about what’s happening in the digital world. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

• As a company, Airbnb posted a “net loss of $322 million through September after making a profit of $200 million the previous year. It also said that while the company’s revenue increased to $1.65 billion in the third quarter, up $400 million from the year prior, costs grew faster,” according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Is this a company that people want to invest in as it heads towards IPO?
• Locally, Airbnb is becoming a nightmare for apartment/condo tenants in the downtown core of Montreal. The article, ‘This isn’t the Holiday Inn’: Montreal residents decry Airbnb rentals, in this past week’s Montreal Gazette paints a horrific picture of people who are trying to live their lives next to units that are listed on Airbnb.
• Esteban Vargas (CHOM FM’s awesome morning producer, who is in the studio the entire time with Terry) posted (on Facebook) a really interesting website called, Inside Airbnb, that shows just how crazy the Montreal Airbnb situation is. Check out your city in this website to see how many units Airbnb occupies.
• App of the Week: 42 Hours of Ambient Sounds from Blade Runner, Star Trek, Doctor Who.

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio.