The Best One Yet - 🏓 “Snitcher’s hotline” — Airbnb’s anti-party escalation. Twitter’s Fox News dupe. Abercrombie’s mullet surge.

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

Airbnb permanently banned parties last year, but it’s cracking down even more this Memorial Day Weekend with a snitcher’s hotline. Elon’s got a new plan to turn around Twitter — become Fox News 2.0. And Abercrombie & Fitch’s stock just surged 30% thanks to what we call “The Mullet Phenomenon.” Recorded at Spotify Studios LA Our weekly news quiz: go.tboypod.com$ABNB $ANF $AE Want merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.com Follow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypod And now watch us on Youtube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. Quiz Friday, May 26th. And today's pod is the best one yet. Stocks actually rose yesterday on hopes for a debt ceiling deal. Oh, I thought it was because of the empanada we had yesterday. That was fantastic.

We don't have a debt ceiling deal yet. But we did have a great empanata yesterday. And we do have Spotify Studios in L.A. where we're recording live right now. We are. Actually, we walked into the studio and someone asked Jack, what did they ask you? Has anyone else? never told you, you look like Ryan Gosling. They thought he looked like Ryan Gosling, which is why we said,

that is Ryan Gosling. It's Friday, the real Friday. First story, what do we got on the show? As we head into Memorial Day weekend, Airbnb has a plan for the travel surge. Airbnb isn't shutting down parties. It's snitching on them. For our second story, Twitter's first presidential announcement did not work. So Twitter's got a new plan, and what is that plan, Jack? Zuck Fox News. Zuck Fox News. And our third and final story, is Abercrombie and Fitch.

Pop the collar. Shares of A&F surged by 30% this week. Because Yeties, Abercrombie has a new strategy. Here's what it is, the mullet. But before we hit that wonderful mix, Yetis. The perfect mix to go into the weekend way. Gosling aside, it's Friday, the real Friday. Which means it may be your date night.

It may be date night. You may be going out on a hot date tonight. So Nick and I have a conversation topic for you, too. Here's what you're going to do, Yeties. When you start the date, You should open up with this question. When was the first kiss? Not your first kiss.

No, good point, Jack. When was the first kiss? As in, when was the first kiss in history? That's right. We're asking, when was the first ever snogging? When was the first ever make-out? When was the first ever Frenchie? The first ever lip-locking, the first ever tonsill hockey.

According to the Wall Street Journal, kissing began an ancient Mesopotamia. Wow. In the Middle East, 4,500 years ago. We're talking about the Bronze Age over here. The first kiss was. documented in Mesopotamian text. And back then, in like 2000 BC, kissing was a way to evaluate a potential mate. Which it also is today.

I think that's how kissing is today. It hasn't really changed. But kissing today is not as common as you might think it is. Here is the shocker. It turns out that kissing is the exception, not the rule. Get this. Today, less than half of the world's cultures kiss for romantic purposes. Less than half the people on Earth are locking lips out of love.

And the reason they're so little. little making out happening in half the world. Why is a jack? Kissing is kind of a luxury. Yeah, because you need leisure time for a makeout session. Yeah, if you're worried about surviving. And you are not worried about smooching. So yeties, this three-day weekend, respect the kiss.

Embrace the kiss. Even if it's just a peck? Yeah. That's a privilege. Because every kiss begins with Mesopotam. Gossling, let's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea.

it caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show.

For our first story, Airbnb just announced a new anti-party crackdown heading into Memorial Day weekend. No bopsies. No BtBs. No more. Yeties, you're probably sitting in Memorial Day weekend traffic right now. Yeah. Well, Airbnb this Memorial Day weekend has completed their maturity evolution.

Yes, they have. Airbnb has gone from party animal to party pooper to snitch. Bring us back to 2020. Early in the pandemic, Airbnb temporarily banned parties at all Airbnb. Jack and I covered it on this pod. Airbnb became a party poop. It was the pandemic. And every party was a potential super spreader event. If you were going to that condo with a crew, you were coming out with COVID. Well, a couple years later, 2020. Airbnb made that party ban permanent. We also covered that on this pod.

Airbnb became a permanent party pooper. But to permanently ban parties, Yes, Jack. Airbnb had to define what is a party. Yeah, which meant getting the lawyers involved. How do we describe a party, Jack? They didn't ask McLevin. No.

They actually just decided that if there's more than 16 people, that is a party. And they decided that if there is loud music, that is a party. If they're smoking, trespassing, vandalism. Yeah. Strangely, that's a party in Airbnb's books. If our buddy Timmy's involved, it's probably a party and it's probably banned. But yesterday, Airbnb took it one step further. They're going full snitch.

Yeties, here's why Jack and I had to cover this story. We've never seen a tech platform do any of what we're about to describe. To enforce the anti-party ban, Airbnb just launched what they're calling an anti-party crackdown. Okay, this gets physical. This is intense. Effective this weekend, there are three new anti-party policies. Here's what they are. The first one is this. Airbnb is launching a Snitchers hotline.

People who suspect an Airbnb party is happening over at that place over there. You hear that? You hear that? There's a 24-7 hotline they can call to accuse the party. Like if you see Solo Cup, you say something. And then Airbnb is going to investigate. Okay. Well, they've got the Snitchers hotline. The second thing Airbnb is doing is the anti-party pledge.

They're making guests promise like Pinky Swear. Right here. Yeah. They will not host a party at that Airbnb they just took. Here's a book. Can you swear on this book? I, weekend Airbnb guest, solemnly swear, I will not rage. I shall not rage.

I must not rage at this ranch. So help you God. So help me God. So that brings us to the third and frankly the most shocking out of all these Airbnb changes. They're giving hosts free noise detectors that they can plant inside their place to monitor the situation while they're gone. We repeat, Airbnb is sending you a free noise detector in case you're worried about parties from your neighbors.

So you might be like away for the weekend and your Airbnb'd your place. You can listen in and be like, honey, does that sound like ping pong balls bouncing? Did someone say RERC? I swear, I heard someone say RERC. Who you're going to call the Snitch Hotline? Yeties Airbnb has gone from party animal to party pooper to party snitcher. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Airbnb? Some companies don't just have customers.

They have constituents. Yeties, this party ban, it isn't about the customers. It's really about constituents. Constituents are a very particular type of stakeholder. Yes, they are. Because they're voters. Yeties, Airbnb's big risk, it's political. Countless cities have banned or restricted Airbnb and other short-term rentals.

Because politicians hear complaints from their constituents. And the top complaint from those constituents. It's that parties at Airbnb's are a nuisance for all the neighbors. So to protect Airbnb's business, they must keep constituents happy. Not just shareholders, hosts, and guests. Right. Also constituents. Yeah, it is this anti-party ban.

It isn't about the customers. It's really about constituents. For our second story, Twitter just botched its first ever presidential moment. But we've realized that Elon has a new mission for Twitter. And what is it, Jack? Become Fox News 2.0. Yeties, let's go back to Wednesday. Jack and I just landed, and it was going to be Twitter's biggest moment in the Elon Musk era.

That's because Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida was going to announce his candidacy for president on Twitter. Let's sprinkle a little context here. We're not talking just a tweet. We're talking a Twitter Spaces live audio event. Not just any Twitter Spaces live audio event, one hosted by Twitter's still CEO, Elon Musk. And how to go down, Jack? Twitter blew it. Yeah.

The app glitched hard. Jack and I were in the studio. We were recording the pod for you and we were checking our phones. We wanted to see this. But we couldn't see the announcement because 20 minutes in, 600 or 700,000 people were trying to hear the announcement. No one could. But the app was just blank. Because the way it looks yet is Twitter laid off 80% of its employees and like the app still works.

But when it got stress tested Wednesday night for the announcement, it broke under the pressure. They could have used one or two more employees. one or two thousand more employees. Where's the IT team? There is no more IT team. But yet, this reflects a broader theme. Jack and I have been following what's happening at Twitter.

And we've noticed that conservative voices are bringing their content to Twitter. First, look at Tucker Carlson. Fox News is former top host. He says he's launching his nightly show on Twitter. And Jack, let's look at the Daily Wire, a network of conservative podcast who said they're going to start publishing all their pods on Twitter.

On the right, Elon Musk has become a hailed figure as the first social media CEO that shares conservative values. And in case you weren't sure about it, last year, Elon Musk said that he would now vote for a Republican for president. Those moves to the right for Elon have actually hurt Tesla's brand. But here's the interesting thing. That move to the right could actually be core to Elon's plan for Twitter. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over Twitter? Twitter's most lucrative future could be as Fox News, 2.0. Yet he's in his first year as CEO. Elon tried to find a profit formula for his new social media

toy. He hasn't found. But that profit formula may be to take Rupert Murdoch's crown. Okay, here's how we're seeing it. Fox News, it has dominated conservative media for 30 years. Last year, Fox News made $3 billion just in profit. But Fox News is old. And cable news is incredibly old. It is even older. So conservatives have been searching for a new media home. Well, it's not Rumble or Parlor, and it's not Trump's Truth Social, and it's not the Fox News app. But it could be Twitter. It could be. Conservatives are looking for a new app, and Twitter is looking for a new profit.

That's why we think Twitter could become Fox News 2.0. For our third and final story before the three-day weekend, Abercrombie and Fitch just whipped up a sales record. Get this, Abercrombie stock searched 30% yesterday. Because what's working for Abercrombie is Mullets. It's the Mullets. Yeties, this summer, the wedding dress code isn't black tie, and the wedding dress code isn't cocktail casual. It's not Mullets either.

No, it's not. What is it, Jack? But it may be Abercrombie and Fitch. Get this. Abercrombie just had what they call historic performance of the Abercrombie brand. The Abercrombie and Abercrombie and Fitch brands saw sales surge by 14% to a record high last quarter. Investors were so excited about this. they drove the stock up 30%.

That's because last year in this quarter, they notched a $16 million loss. But this year in this quarter, they notched a $16 million profit. The old flipperoom. What too shabby? And can we talk about the women's business? I thought you never asked, Jack.

The women's business at Abercrombie just had their 11th straight quarter of double-digit sales growth. This is the first time we've seen this since nom. Unprecedented. Cargo pants? Yes. Was referenced three times

in the earnings call. Pop that collar, Jack. This company's kicking like it's 2003. Somebody play some LFO. Adam, can we play some LFO? I like girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch. In the last five years, Abercrombie has had a rebound for these three reasons. Yeah, they drop the moose.

They cut the cologne. And they caught a wave of nostalgia. They also put out the topless male models to pasture, which wasn't a bad color here. Jack and I had to retire the abs. But yeties, here's what Jack and I find fascinating about Abercrombie. Here's what's working. Here's what's working.

We call it the Mullet strategy. The Mullet strategy. The Mullet strategy. Business in the front, party in the back. Because for the first time ever, two trends are converging to power Abercrombie. Both clothing for work and clothing to celebrate. According to the CEO of Abercrombie, they are no longer a denim dependent brand. Instead of selling just jeans, they had a record year of sales for dresses.

Dresses, like apparently you're loading up on floral prints before a wedding season. But the CEO also said, selling dresses for every occasion, not just wedding. Okay, it's like you're buying a dress for brunch, but you're also buying a dress for that bat mitzvah. Here's the best part, though, for Abercrombie. They also had a record year of sales for workwear. Right, because when you return to the office, you're not hitting it up in Brooks Brothers.

You're going in Abercrombie. A top seller for Abercrombie and Fitch last quarter. This was interesting. It was called the Sloan WorkPant. You can look it up right now. This was actually trending on TikTok. It's called the Sloan WorkPlan. It looks like something Emily and Paris would commute to her office.

It does. It's comfortable chic. And frankly, we trust Emily in the boardroom. We trust Emily on everything. We'd even trust her with our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Abercrac. Consumers are finding comfort in the middle. Comfort in the middle.

Yet he's the theme of retail the last decade. Jack and I've been covering this. Brands in the middle got squeezed. As income inequality grew, brands at the top and the bottom thrive. While brands in the middle, like Jay Crew and Abercrombie and Fitch, got squeezed. That's changed, though, this year. Middle-priced brands are living their best lives. For example, Abercrombie and Fitch, Urban Outfitters, American Eagle, Airy, all of them just reported earnings, and all of their earnings saw double-digit sales growth. Consumers are finding comfort and affordable splurges in those middle-tiered brands. Less Old Navy, less Gucci, more Abercrombie.

Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us before Memorial Day weekend? Airbnb is launching an anti-party crackdown this weekend, including a snitching hotline. Because some companies, they don't have customers, they have constituents. For our second story, Twitter. Conservatives are looking for an app, Twitter's looking for a profit. Twitter's potentially lucrative future

become Fox News 2.0. And our third and final story is Abercrombie and Fitch. They just reported a record sales resurrection. Because consumers are finding comfort in the middle. Now time for the best fact yet. This one comes from Jagging me because we decided

To whip it up for you. Memorial Day weekend. You may be listening to us from the road right now. Yeah, you could be. And you know what? Jack and I jumped in. We found some travel advice from AAA. Because like more of you are traveling this weekend than any other weekend.

Every time there's a three-day weekend, it's like the most traveled weekend in the history of the car. So we got the exact best times to travel this weekend and the exact worst times to travel this weekend. Jack, let's start with the bad stuff. What's the worst time to travel? If you have to travel somewhere this weekend, do not leave on Friday afternoon between 3rd. And do not leave on Monday afternoon between 3 and 6 p.m. You'll be stuck, you'll be swearing, you'll be hitting your steering wheel. If it is 3 p.m. on Friday right now, we are sorry for all the traffic, but we'll keep you entertained.

Thanks for listening. On the other hand, Jack, what are the best times to travel this weekend? If you got flexibility on when to drive, hit the road Saturday morning before 1 o'clock. Yeah, Saturday or Sunday before 1 p.m. are the best times to travel according to AAA. So to avoid traffic, you have to take your three-day weekend and turn it into a one-day trip. Yeah, so basically the advice from AAA is to not have a three-day weekend. Yeties, you looked fantastic this week. Jack and I will see you a Tuesday, but Jack, what can you do to stay entertained this weekend?

I think we should downgrade AAA to double A plus. We're going to round down. Yadies, if you're stuck in traffic right now, you should go to T-boypod.com and play our weekly quiz. It's our five-question, one-minute pop-biz, pop quiz. S-D celebrate the wins this weekend. Jack, Datchler Party continues all week. long. If you know, you know. And before we go, Jack and I just want to point out it is Memorial Day, and it's not just a

three-day weekend. We're remembering everyone who gave their lives for the country. Thank you to all those who serve. And congratulations to Asella Torres and Fernando Espina, who are getting married in Prosser, Washington. All three of their cats are in attendance. Congratulations to Karas Yoken and Ben Myers, who are getting married in Boulder, Colorado. Sit down, stand up, and say yes again. And a big shout out to. To Amy and Alberto, they've been tea-boying since they've been snacking. Yes. And now they're getting married in San Jose.

And Chris Craft, congrats on getting married this weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota. And congratulations to Stephen and Lisa Teal, celebrating five years together in Napa over a couple of pinos. And Todd and Beth Schweitzer, congrats on that anniversary. Enjoy the stakes, medium rare. Happy one-year anniversary to Vincent and Amy Ma in New York City. Not too shabby. And Cooper and Ian Schmidt. It's their last full week of school.

Enjoy the full week in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Summer break, it's going to be epic this year. And a happy 22nd birthday to Tiffany in lovely McLean, Virginia. And Mazel Tov to Sasha and Stewart, who are twins having a benign mitzv, a multiple mitzvah in California. And a happy birthday to Maxime Hoffman, who's getting into some trouble over in Seattle. Happy 29th birthday to Zach Lynette in Stowe, Ohio. And Austin Hope celebrating a 33rd birthday over T-Bones and Top Golf.

Atlanta. Lindsay Goodman. Happy birthday over in Dublin, Ohio. And Anne Catherine News, happy birthday. And congrats on the new job over in Colorado. Happy birthday to Nate Menacher in Austin, Texas. And Kevin, Benjamin, Pacman, happy 48th birthday in San Matea. Big happy birthday birthday to Caleb Myers in Dallas, Texas. Who does want a cookie Krisp, Jack. Can we get a cookie? Wait, he's asking for a cookie. He's asking for a cookie. For a birthday present? For a birthday present, I think it's the least we can do. Caleb. Go! And promote Molina, happy three years of T-boying with us. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy.

Celebrate the wins. This is Jack and Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb and Spotify. And to that guy who asked us on Instagram, yeah, we'd still do own stock of Pellatown. Did he really ask for that? Yes, he did. I think you told him to ask for that. I put a question with the big. I was like, I can ask the big guy.

That's like what an elf says about saying. Santa Claus. Putting to get word with the big guy.