5 ms·

I like airbnb. They need to get better at weeding out fake/scammy listings, that tend to plague many online marketplaces where things can be listed for free. Ma

by kart23 6y ago

I like airbnb. They need to get better at weeding out fake/scammy listings, that tend to plague many online marketplaces where things can be listed for free. Maybe some in-person verification system, or a fee that gets refunded if you have a certain number of guests. There are plenty of listings with huge/exclusive homes, yet no reviews and extremely cheap prices. I don't know what people get out of these listings, but it's really weird and makes the user doubtful about the authenticity of the marketplace.

newguy1234 6y ago
Easiest solution is to force new hosts to provide a "surety bond" to basically be an honest host. Maybe make them pay 10-25k lump-sum in cash. After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. If the host is a scammer then the money can be used to reimburse the guests for their troubles. The risk vs rewards under this system would discourage bad hosts from joining the platform. For new, honest hosts, it would be a minor inconvenience at best.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- gnopgnip 6y ago
  That would almost completely rule out people renting out a room in their home
  - SilasX 6y ago
    Considering they’re borrowing at 10%, they could pay good interest on that money and both sides would come out ahead. https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-paying-10-percent-interest-debt-valuation-cut-18-billion-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-paying-10-percent-int...
    - shajznnckfke 6y ago
      That story happened when both the company and financial markets in general were in the dumps. As you can see from the headline, times have changed.
      - SilasX 6y ago
        So they've refinanced that debt?
- pathseeker 6y ago
  >Maybe make them pay 10-25k lump-sum in cash. After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. This is so detached from reality. It would wipe out probably 99% of listings from people not doing it professionally.
  - newguy1234 6y ago
    The lump-sum fee is just an example number. It could be less for smaller rentals but the point is still there. You need to force new hosts to "prove" they're going to be honest and have a penalty for those who aren't honest. This same concept is used in the cryptocurrency world where you need people to have trust. One example I can point to is Storj where they withhold earnings from people who don't perform per the agreed terms (in this case keeping your storage node running 24/7). It is okay if certain people are excluded because you only want people hosting that are SERIOUS about doing it. If you can't do the surety bond then you simply aren't ready to be a host. It really is that simple.
    - calmworm 6y ago
      I understand what you’re saying but your $10-25k example cripples your point. Many people are hosting for extra cash, so any surety bond would keep away a lot of hosts that are actually honest and good hosts.
    - SilasX 6y ago
      What about just tracking the users themselves? Why can't they require the country/province's ID card, and blacklist known scammers? It's usually a lot of the same people. If they also cooperated with law enforcement on getting them prosecuted, the return to scamming would evaporate overnight.
  - edogg 6y ago
    25k seems excessive, but 10% of a years anticipated revenue might be appropriate. It is not unusual to have to but up a bond in order to bid on a contract.
- tsjq 6y ago
  > After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. fraudsters would easily game this. ask a bunch of their friends to "stay" , or even create a bunch of fake accounts and "be our guest"
- baq 6y ago
  perfect way to keep the possibility of making money only to people who already have money.
- Ekaros 6y ago
  I wonder if guest could also post similar sum before they get to use services. After all guest can cause massive amounts of damage. Maybe something reasonable like 25% of property value... Just to make sure that both sides are honest. Ofc, this will be returned if locations is in perfect condition after the visit.
tomcooks 6y ago
Just withhold the money they made with Airbnb until they have 3 excellent reviews.
- Ikatza 6y ago
  That doesn't make sense for the hosts, for 80% of them it could be months until they see the money from their first booking. Airbnb already holds the money for 24h after check-in, which is enough to defuse 99% of scams. The problem is the guests that book outside the platform, then claim they were scammed.

by kart23 6y ago

newguy1234 6y ago

Easiest solution is to force new hosts to provide a "surety bond" to basically be an honest host. Maybe make them pay 10-25k lump-sum in cash. After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. If the host is a scammer then the money can be used to reimburse the guests for their troubles. The risk vs rewards under this system would discourage bad hosts from joining the platform. For new, honest hosts, it would be a minor inconvenience at best.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
gnopgnip 6y ago
That would almost completely rule out people renting out a room in their home
- SilasX 6y ago
  Considering they’re borrowing at 10%, they could pay good interest on that money and both sides would come out ahead. https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-paying-10-percent-interest-debt-valuation-cut-18-billion-2020-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-paying-10-percent-int...
  - shajznnckfke 6y ago
    That story happened when both the company and financial markets in general were in the dumps. As you can see from the headline, times have changed.
    - SilasX 6y ago
      So they've refinanced that debt?
pathseeker 6y ago
>Maybe make them pay 10-25k lump-sum in cash. After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. This is so detached from reality. It would wipe out probably 99% of listings from people not doing it professionally.
- newguy1234 6y ago
  The lump-sum fee is just an example number. It could be less for smaller rentals but the point is still there. You need to force new hosts to "prove" they're going to be honest and have a penalty for those who aren't honest. This same concept is used in the cryptocurrency world where you need people to have trust. One example I can point to is Storj where they withhold earnings from people who don't perform per the agreed terms (in this case keeping your storage node running 24/7). It is okay if certain people are excluded because you only want people hosting that are SERIOUS about doing it. If you can't do the surety bond then you simply aren't ready to be a host. It really is that simple.
  - calmworm 6y ago
    I understand what you’re saying but your $10-25k example cripples your point. Many people are hosting for extra cash, so any surety bond would keep away a lot of hosts that are actually honest and good hosts.
  - SilasX 6y ago
    What about just tracking the users themselves? Why can't they require the country/province's ID card, and blacklist known scammers? It's usually a lot of the same people. If they also cooperated with law enforcement on getting them prosecuted, the return to scamming would evaporate overnight.
- edogg 6y ago
  25k seems excessive, but 10% of a years anticipated revenue might be appropriate. It is not unusual to have to but up a bond in order to bid on a contract.
tsjq 6y ago
> After a certain amount of guests have visited the offering then the money can be returned. fraudsters would easily game this. ask a bunch of their friends to "stay" , or even create a bunch of fake accounts and "be our guest"
baq 6y ago
perfect way to keep the possibility of making money only to people who already have money.
Ekaros 6y ago
I wonder if guest could also post similar sum before they get to use services. After all guest can cause massive amounts of damage. Maybe something reasonable like 25% of property value... Just to make sure that both sides are honest. Ofc, this will be returned if locations is in perfect condition after the visit.

tomcooks 6y ago

Just withhold the money they made with Airbnb until they have 3 excellent reviews.

Ikatza 6y ago
That doesn't make sense for the hosts, for 80% of them it could be months until they see the money from their first booking. Airbnb already holds the money for 24h after check-in, which is enough to defuse 99% of scams. The problem is the guests that book outside the platform, then claim they were scammed.