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AirBnB is an evil company and YC should be ashamed to be apart of it. AirBnB has the official policy that it's okay to lie about where listings are. I booked o

AirBnB is an evil company and YC should be ashamed to be apart of it. AirBnB has the official policy that it's okay to lie about where listings are. I booked one that turned out to about about half a kilometer away from where is was marked on the map. I would never have rented it had it been correctly marked. When I complained I was told it's their policy. It's buried in their privacy policy in a paragraph aimed at hosts, not guests. Also, the law appears to say burying stuff in a policy is not a defense excusing deceptive practices. I can list more AirBnB deceptive practices. I don't think the idea of AirBnB is bad but YC should not be associated with the kind of management that thinks deceptive practices are ok.

exclusiv 10y ago
You have a valid point. They do it to protect the privacy of their hosts but mostly their best interests since hosting one's entire home/apt is illegal in many areas. I agree that they should have a clear disclaimer on the exact location because it is very important in many areas. I think VRBO may be exact so you have another option.
nickpsecurity 10y ago
I was tempted not to reply given the topic but she mentioned them exemplary enough that it was worth checking. Plus, I added "ruthless" to her recommendation that determination trumps all other traits for success. Made me curious. So, I looked at their policy pages to find something about location listings. Here's my first find: "Misrepresenting your spaces You should not provide inaccurate location information, have incorrect availability, mislead people about the type, nature, or details of your listing, substitute one listing for another, set up fake or fraudulent listings, leave fraudulent reviews, engage in deceptive pricing, or fail to disclose hazards and habitability issues." From here: https://www.airbnb.com/standards https://www.airbnb.com/standards In the privacy policy here... https://www.airbnb.com/terms/privacy_policy https://www.airbnb.com/terms/privacy_policy ...I noticed they had permission to display location-related stuff, which should be affected by other policy, in your profile with an "approximate location" on a map. There could be problems if approximation was wrong due to crappy, mapping service but good ones are usually pretty good. Which policy link and quotes do you have that lets them lie about what has to be honest in the above sections? Or another I haven't seen?
- greggman 10y ago
  Yes it's that second part they quoted to me in email from their customer service " The Platform may also display the Accommodation’s approximate geographic location on a map, such that a user can see the general area of the Accommodation” First off its ridiculous to claim that part of the privacy policy is something clear and obvious to guests and that they will therefore understand that listing are not representative of the actual locations. Second, while I can except they might choose to have such a policy to protect hosts it is a arguably deceptive practice. If it's their policy that locations on the map may not by accurate that should be on the map page itself in a hard to miss representation. Not buried in section 5.B of their privacy policy in a section that starts with "Your public listing page..." making it clearly directed at hosts not guests.

exclusiv 10y ago

You have a valid point. They do it to protect the privacy of their hosts but mostly their best interests since hosting one's entire home/apt is illegal in many areas. I agree that they should have a clear disclaimer on the exact location because it is very important in many areas. I think VRBO may be exact so you have another option.

nickpsecurity 10y ago

I was tempted not to reply given the topic but she mentioned them exemplary enough that it was worth checking. Plus, I added "ruthless" to her recommendation that determination trumps all other traits for success. Made me curious. So, I looked at their policy pages to find something about location listings. Here's my first find: "Misrepresenting your spaces You should not provide inaccurate location information, have incorrect availability, mislead people about the type, nature, or details of your listing, substitute one listing for another, set up fake or fraudulent listings, leave fraudulent reviews, engage in deceptive pricing, or fail to disclose hazards and habitability issues." From here: https://www.airbnb.com/standards https://www.airbnb.com/standards In the privacy policy here... https://www.airbnb.com/terms/privacy_policy https://www.airbnb.com/terms/privacy_policy ...I noticed they had permission to display location-related stuff, which should be affected by other policy, in your profile with an "approximate location" on a map. There could be problems if approximation was wrong due to crappy, mapping service but good ones are usually pretty good. Which policy link and quotes do you have that lets them lie about what has to be honest in the above sections? Or another I haven't seen?

greggman 10y ago
Yes it's that second part they quoted to me in email from their customer service " The Platform may also display the Accommodation’s approximate geographic location on a map, such that a user can see the general area of the Accommodation” First off its ridiculous to claim that part of the privacy policy is something clear and obvious to guests and that they will therefore understand that listing are not representative of the actual locations. Second, while I can except they might choose to have such a policy to protect hosts it is a arguably deceptive practice. If it's their policy that locations on the map may not by accurate that should be on the map page itself in a hard to miss representation. Not buried in section 5.B of their privacy policy in a section that starts with "Your public listing page..." making it clearly directed at hosts not guests.