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I can only speak for myself and the 5-6 people I know who rent their properties on these platforms; we don't rent to new profiles. Clearly some people do rent

I can only speak for myself and the 5-6 people I know who rent their properties on these platforms; we don't rent to new profiles. Clearly some people do rent to new profiles. There are fools everywhere, but they won't be fools for long. It will only take a few bad experiences, and then they'll learn.

tptacek 9y ago
You are not most people on Airbnb. I've rented pretty amazing places on fresh profiles. And really, it's not as if the idea that online rating systems are unhelpful is new to anyone.
- IanDrake 9y ago
  From a single renter's point of view, you have a big pool of places. You'll find one that doesn't mind your new profile. I get that. From a single host's point of view, you have 0% chance of renting with me or the hosts like me. So we're looking at this from different views. I get that people with new profiles CAN find a place, even a nice place. Please get that they won't find it with cautious hosts that are careful about their visitors.
inimino 9y ago
So... just another example of how the AirBnB system offloads risk onto the unsuspecting, then?
- IanDrake 9y ago
  Seriously? On one hand everyone is pissed that people are buying properties just to rent on airbnb (and home away, flipkey, vbro, etc...) and on the other hand we need to protect these same people from themselves? You can't protect the predator and its prey. If you want fewer people buying up properties for short term rentals you should want the weaker ones to have bad experiences and tell all their friends.
  - inimino 9y ago
    It's entirely possible to point out that both sides of the market may be harmed when "disrupting" a regulated industry. AirBnB takes a cut of the savings, but the risks are borne by the market participants, whether that means having your property trashed by bad guests, or your trip ruined by bad hosts. The "predator" in your analogy would be AirBnB itself.

tptacek 9y ago

You are not most people on Airbnb. I've rented pretty amazing places on fresh profiles. And really, it's not as if the idea that online rating systems are unhelpful is new to anyone.

IanDrake 9y ago
From a single renter's point of view, you have a big pool of places. You'll find one that doesn't mind your new profile. I get that. From a single host's point of view, you have 0% chance of renting with me or the hosts like me. So we're looking at this from different views. I get that people with new profiles CAN find a place, even a nice place. Please get that they won't find it with cautious hosts that are careful about their visitors.

inimino 9y ago

So... just another example of how the AirBnB system offloads risk onto the unsuspecting, then?

IanDrake 9y ago
Seriously? On one hand everyone is pissed that people are buying properties just to rent on airbnb (and home away, flipkey, vbro, etc...) and on the other hand we need to protect these same people from themselves? You can't protect the predator and its prey. If you want fewer people buying up properties for short term rentals you should want the weaker ones to have bad experiences and tell all their friends.
- inimino 9y ago
  It's entirely possible to point out that both sides of the market may be harmed when "disrupting" a regulated industry. AirBnB takes a cut of the savings, but the risks are borne by the market participants, whether that means having your property trashed by bad guests, or your trip ruined by bad hosts. The "predator" in your analogy would be AirBnB itself.