10 ms·
The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
- arepb 15y agoThe part in here about the FAQ really burns, now more than ever. Language used regarding renter protection should be as forthright and above-board as that used in payment checkout. Just the facts.
- jmjerlecki 15y agoWill someone steal my grand piano? Highly unlikely. Grand pianos weigh thousands of pounds and do not fit through doors. That's just unacceptable. Regardless of whether this ever happened to EJ or not.
- shakes 15y agoI'm all about startups having a sense of humor and personality. I think that their mistake is not following their answer up with something like this: "But seriously, you rent at your own risk. Make sure to lockup or move all valuables to a friends place. If there are any problems, contact us 24 hours a day at XXX-XXX-XXXX"
- jmjerlecki 15y agoI agree with you, its perfectly OK to set a tone and personality for the site – but that information to me is critically important to users of Airbnb and why to this day I haven't used Airbnb. It never seemed clear what would happen in this event and now we know. You are on the hook. FYI In her blog post, EJ points out that Airbnb also lacks a 24 hour customer support phone number.
- DuqE 15y agoAgreed, but having a sense of humor is fine until it becomes reality.
- arepb 15y agoI think certain parts of FAQs can breathe a bit more and inject humor. Others can't. Payments, renter sec., etc are sacred ground. Funny is a disarming quality; you want these sections to reiterate strength, confidence and professionalism.
- randallsquared 15y ago...and rather than update the answer to reflect the traffic they'll be receiving to that question, they just removed it. I guess they're still in hope-this-goes-away mode.
- aklein 15y agoIt's horrible but inevitable that something like this would happen. I can imagine it'd be useful for a third party service that provides identity checks and insurance or escrow for AirBnb customers. Why play with fire (without hazard insurance)?
- rick888 15y agoAirbnb should partner with both and turn it into a business opportunity.
- watty 15y agoLets see if YC changes this title too...
- mcphilip 15y agoFor future reference, title is currently: "The Moment Of Truth For AirBnB As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed " Previous submission's title changed from: "AirBnB: Crimes committed against a host" to "Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned"
- tjr 15y agoIt may be significant that the changed title on the other article is actually the title of the article; the older title is not. (Unless someone persuaded the author to change the title on their own site as well as changing here...)
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- dools 15y agopg often asks people to change the title if they're editorialising. I posted the Nissan Leaf campaign page with the title "We don't need Flash(TM) anymore for anything ever!" and he emailed me and said "don't editorialise in titles" and changed it to "Nissan Leaf".
- mcphilip 15y agoThe counterargument here being that blog post's title was so generic sounding as to potentially not bring enough attention to the importance of the issue. The HN submission's original title didn't misrepresent the contents of the blog post in any way and helped attract more attention to the issue.
- dools 15y agoThat was basically what I said to pg - "I'm not want to tell me HN buddies about the Nissan Leaf, the interesting part is their use of HTML5 video to create an ad campaign that would have traditionally been the domain of Flash(TM)". pg's response was that if I want to share an editorial opinion about something, other than just posting the title of the page, then I should blog about it and then post a link to my blog.
- jerrya 15y agoHow long before AirBnB offers some form of insurance, much as ebay started offering buyer protection. Related: how long before your home owner / rental insurance specifically excludes AirBnb type activities?
- _delirium 15y agoOn the 2nd point, most already explicitly exclude sublets and unlicensed rentals. Not directed at AirBnB, but due to shenanigans that have being going on for much longer. The short-term stays thing is relatively new (and largely popularized by AirBnB), but unlicensed rental for longer periods has long been common, especially in college towns, and insurance usually wants no part of it, especially in college towns. (From what I understand, Couchsurfing is closer to a gray area, because of no money exchanged. Having a guest visit is considered a normal use of a home, and it's not clear if an insurance company could successfully argue that Couchsurfing guests aren't "real" guests.)
- yalogin 15y agoInsurance for what though? What if the guest steals the host's identity? What if the guest physically assaults the host? It only takes one of these to fuck things up.
- StrawberryFrog 15y agoYour home owner / contents insurance almost certainly doesn't cover you for this, and never did. Letting a stranger stay for a few nights in exchange for money is not novel to Airbnb, and will be excluded.
- dotBen 15y agoWhen someone first told me about AirBnB I immediately dismissed it - just like Fred Wilson did. It fell in the group of ideas which I just find puzzling because the concept is totally alien to something I would want to do/buy/participate in. I don't get why anyone would want to rent out their couch or spare room to a transient stranger - even 'vetted' within a community (and we can see that vetted is very lose here). Sure, I sort of get the appeal for the renter but I'm lost as to why a homeowner would want to do this - especially considering the risk/reward here. The upside is a few dollars here and there, the downside is $10k's of damage - like this. If you've never owned a house, you won't know that it's a labor of love and something you invest more than just your money into. Why you would want to risk someone destroying it, I don't know. AirBnB needs to offer insurance as part of the deal - just like the car sharing programs seem to have negotiated their own insurance for the duration that the other person is driving your car. Otherwise it just seems an unwise risk to offer accommodation on AirBnB.
- vladd 15y agoInsurance probably requires a hotel reception-like presence (person on site, cam surveillance, security coverage, signed contracts, in-person ID validation and a way to prove who did what in case something bad happens). I can't imagine any insurance company signing up for insuring "rented your home while being away" guests at rates that would be considered affordable for the rental model, nor a lot of AirBnB audience willing to turn their property into a de-facto hotel establishment.
- patrickod 15y agoAm I the only one that would have presumed that AirBnB would not be financially responsible? They're a forum for helping people find short term tenants. They can't possibly vet everyone who's going through the system.
- jamesteow 15y agoI feel the same way. That said, unlike Craigslist (and other forums), they do take a percentage of the cut.
- three14 15y agoOf course they're not financially responsible. That doesn't matter. "We encouraged you to do something that wrecked your home and sense of security, but we didn't accept liability, so we're off the hook." It's legally true, but it's atrocious PR and bad karma.
- skmurphy 15y agoAirBnB will lose control of the narrative if they frame this on narrow legal liability grounds: they are too large and well established and will be judged by a very different standard than is this had happened a few years ago. This will be a part of someone's advertising and PR campaign, either AirBnB, a plaintiff's attorney, or a hotel lobbying group. AirBnB looks like they are mindful of the legal liability and oblivious of the public goodwill risks.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- ArchD 15y agoI found it ironic that the renter's 'name' is Dj Pattrson when I read this in a related article: "This week, New York Governor, David Paterson, signed a bill outlawing the use of private dwellings as makeshift hotels." http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/25/fawlty-logic/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/25/fawlty-logic/
- meric 15y agoConspiracy theories anyone? Maybe someone from the hotel industry sent somebody to do this?
- AndyJPartridge 15y agoBig discussion on this tragic situation here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2811080 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2811080
- robtoo 15y agoAirBnB is one rape case away from disaster.
- vaksel 15y agomurder would be worst...serial murders that get turned into a movie(i.e. the craigslist killer) especially
- danilocampos 15y ago"I spoke to Airbnb about EJ’s situation. They won’t reimburse her for damages, they say, and they do not insure against losses. They are helping police track down the person who did this, but their help ends there." ... Fuck. That. I don't care what the long-term implications are, I don't care about precedent, I don't care about policy, I don't care about cost. If my business does this to someone I make it right. Even if that means going into my own goddamn pocket. Anything less is simple villainy. If you are going to enjoy the rewards of your business, you have a moral obligation to ensure that you make things right when that business harms someone else. And let us be clear: this is harm. This isn't "oh dear, my careless guest spilled wine on my TV. Buy me a new one guys." This is "the guest you sent me destroyed my home and sense of safety." This is completely beyond the pale, an incredible stretch no one, clearly, bothered to imagine. Crucially: it's completely documented by law enforcement. If it's true these guys aren't going to make this right, Airbnb is dead to me. Fuck Obama O's, to hell with their Cap'n McCains, and all the struggle that earned my admiration. I'd say that to their faces, I'd say that if I worked there, and I'd quit if I worked there and this wasn't made right. This is a test of human decency. I hope they don't fail it.
- rokekr 15y ago>This is "the guest you sent me destroyed my home and sense of safety." Not to mention the theft of personal documents and potential theft of identity. The (very real) potential of being bushwhacked by additional fraud years down the line due to this incident is pretty horrifying.
- oldstrangers 15y ago"This is a test of human decency. I hope they don't fail it." Technically, they've already failed it. Now they just have to admit that they failed, and actually fix the problem (financially). If this was my company, a "worst case scenario" money chest and an itemized plan-of-action would've been the first thing I created. Investors are protected (in a number of ways) from the financial risk of investing in Airbnb (or any company); the clients should have a similar expectation of security, considering that they're creating the value for investors.
- tc 15y ago> I spoke to Airbnb about EJ’s situation. They won’t reimburse her for damages This is bad news. They're going to backtrack on this. The sooner they do it, the better for them politically. I understand the problems of setting a precedent. And there really is no getting around the fact that the hosts do have the final responsibility for screening travelers (and travelers for screening hosts). But rightly or wrongly, they're going to end up on the wrong side of this story unless they make things right for this gal and can tell Arrington and other journalists, "we've made sure our customer is whole." After saying that, they can use this as a learning exercise for their community about how screening hosts and travelers yourself is important. -- [Edit]: Is she in San Francisco? It looks like she is. She called SFPD. This is an easy one. Brian, Joe, or Nathan needs to be out there to provide a shoulder to cry on and an open checkbook to fix anything that money can fix. Nothing in that apartment costs more than the value of the ammunition this is going to give to their enemies. The earlier they do this, the more quietly they can do it, which serves their purposes as well. [Edit #2]: Some form of insurance might be a worthwhile addition to their offering, but that's something they can debate and decide on after they put out this fire. [added:] Also, insurance doesn't solve the safety issues involved here, so they're still going to need to emphasize the importance of screening travelers (and hosts) carefully. [Edit #3]: EJ doesn't sound particularly litigious in her post, but consider what happens if she does decide to sue AirBnB and any part of it makes it to a jury. I mean, HackerNews is lining up against them. Consider what 6-12 normal people might decide. The wise move would be to make sure that she's fully satisfied with the way they treated her. [Edit #4]: Arrington updated the article after speaking with Brian Chesky. Brian, Joe, Nathan and company did the right thing here, as you would expect.
- shakes 15y agoI wonder who advised them against reimbursing her... their lawyers? It seems like a no-brainer. I've been fascinated with AirBnB. I'm taking a week-long vacation in August and have been considering listing my NYC apartment to help offset some vacation costs. Their response in this situation totally turned me off from the idea. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
- msluyter 15y ago
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- chrismanfrank 15y agoI'm curious, how would you guys handle this situation if you were running Airbnb?
- DrewG 15y agoNot having used AirBnB, I was incredibly surprised that they don't have a policy like getarounds, where the owner is fully insured by getaround.
- helipad 15y agoIMHO AirBnB is no more responsible than CouchSurfing. Whilst AirBnB charges a fee, that's purely as middleman for connecting two parties. Of course it's horrific for the person, and this is an extreme example, but it's a lesson learned of how to rent out a property. Take AirBnB out of the equation, and they've just let a complete stranger free reign over their apartment with a key for a week whilst leaving their own possessions on view. To not ask a neighbour to hold onto the key, or meet the person beforehand, or get them on video chat, or remove all sensitive documents, or require a deposit, or a way of monitoring the property, is negligent on the owner's part. Could AirBnB do more to vet users? Sure. Should they be responsible for the combined actions of two parties? Not at all. A tough, hard-learnt lesson for the owner.
- danso 15y agoAirBnB's model depends on the two parties not being able to contact each other before a purchase is made. This is a restriction that does not happen on Craigslist, and as such, I'm able to vet just about everything I need to know about a candidate renter before he/she even knows the physical address of my place. For those prospective renters who don't have any real online identity (and decline to provide any other kind of info, such as proof of employment), I don't respond to their emails. This is something you can't do on airbnb, so it's not at all fair to compare using their service to letting just some stranger in willy-nilly.
- limedaring 15y agoYou can totally message a person before being made — I personally don't rent out my rooms to anyone who hasn't messaged me first and I at least got a bit of personal information. Or do you mean messaging via email rather than through Airbnb?
- ashbrahma 15y agoDream come true for a law firm. I bet they can make Airbnb pay up in court.
- dkokelley 15y agoI doubt it. I'm sure Airbnb new exactly what risks there were in offering this service, and had lawyers very carefully craft terms of service that protect the company from damage done by renters. A good lawyer would argue that this is a criminal case between the renter and the home owner, not a civil case between the home owner and Airbnb.
- luckyeights 15y agoAnyone else find TC's stock image annoying for this story? I guess it fits the tone, but it twisted my imagination a good deal, even after I'd read the original story. A real photo would have been valuable, but a generic one is distracting.
- cwp 15y agoYeah, I was half way through the article before I realized it was a stock photo, then I was annoyed.
- ForrestN 15y agoI feel really bad for all involved, including AirBnB. They must feel awful, and this is obviously incredibly stressful. I agree with the consensus that they have thus far failed to use this as a marketing opportunity (a la Tylenol) or even to mitigate much of the damage. That said, I would be absolutely fascinated to learn how this is playing out. It would be a huge service to the community for someone to release a blow-by-blow timeline from inside the company about all these responses and the thinking behind them. I have enough humility to know that they have a lot of really smart people thinking through this stuff, and it's likely much more complicated than we all realize. I'd love to hear about that thinking.
- prodigal_erik 15y agoI'd been hoping those AirBnB pricks would be cratered for having built their business on spamming, not for something like this.
- mattdeboard 15y agoWhy on earth would you feel bad for AirBnB? They're not paying out any money, they're not taking any responsibility, and for that they are receiving a lot of negative reaction. If you feel bad because they are getting negative reaction, that is ridiculous. They are simply reaping what they've sewn in this instance. They could be out there making this right but instead they're hiding in their offices. Not even any meaningful words. A check for some reasonable amount of money accompanied by some nice words would go a long way. Something as simple as, "We were appalled by this story. I wish words could convey how deeply the AirBnB team regrets that this crime occurred to one of our customers in the course of an exchange that was arranged through our service. Please accept this check that we hope will cover most of the physical damage to your belongings along with assurances that we will be looking into exactly what we can do to mitigate the possibility of this ever happening to anyone using our service." Anyway, don't feel bad for them, that's ... misguided.
- ForrestN 15y agoI suppose I take a sympathetic attitude in general, but it's heightened because these guys are doing something I, and other people around here, aspire to. In a relatively minor way, I relate to them, and as I said I bet they feel awful. I don't feel as bad for them as I do for the victim, obviously, and I agree that they haven't handled this the way I might have. But having something you've worked so hard on lead to something like this because of some random asshole kids must be really, really frustrating and upsetting. You can sympathize with people without agreeing with them.
- kwis 15y agoThe only blessing in this story is that the miscreants made their damage so plainly obvious that the problems were identified quite quickly. If they'd been a bit more subtle and a little patient, they could've engaged in massive identity theft and financial fraud without ever making it clear that AirBNB was the attack vector.
- campnic 15y agoThe only blessing is that the person renting the property did not return early. If she had and had caught the renters in the act, who knows what would have happened.
- Lewisham 15y agoI was just thinking this. Presuming most AirBnB users rent regularly, you could quite easily swipe some jewelry (stuff at the bottom of the box) before anyone notices. Even if they do notice, they might go "I wonder where they went...?" and not even figure it was theft for a long time, if ever. Even if theft was presumed, not only would multiple users have been in and out by that time, but you'd have no way of proving who took it, let alone have enough for the police to get a warrant. It sounds like the easiest money in the world.
- code_duck 15y agoHow about something like concealing cameras through the house? There's so much potential for dangerous and creepy behavior.
- jordank 15y agoI wonder if there is a reporting bias for people who have had bad AirBnb experiences, given that renting out your apartment is not always legal.
- forgot_password 15y agoDoesn't AirBnb require a credit card from the renter? Wouldn't it be straightforward to find the vandalizing renter using their credit card information? I'm sure that I'm missing something here...
- smhinsey 15y agoThe other big discussion indicates that the SFPD have already made an arrest. I think it's more about the bell that cannot be un-rung at this point.
- ceejayoz 15y agoAn identity thief or general criminal likely has access to any number of stolen credit cards.
- friendstock 15y agoNo it doesn't. I've booked on AirBNB using paypal.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- VladRussian 15y ago>I was wondering, why is the reaction to this incident so different than the tech community's response to all of the CraigsList incidents? (Which include theft, prostitution and even murder.) CraigsList isn't a party in the transaction. >Seems like as soon as you pay for a service, your expectation goes much much higher. How it could be otherwise?
- maxklein 15y agoAn agressive competitor (say, a hotel chain) could do things like this every month, and kill airbnb as a business.
- jonknee 15y agoIt may just be that Breaking Bad is back in season, but it sounds like she unknowingly rented her house out to be a meth lab with cooks who probably used a bunch of meth in the process. > The death-like smell emanating from the bathroom was frightening (and still is) and the bathroom sink was caked with a crusty yellow substance. Various pairs of my gloves were strewn about
- r00fus 15y agoWow, I only thought grow-ops and meth-labs were limited to actual rented houses, but I guess AirBnB and the like can take it to a whole new level.
- jonknee 15y agoNot too likely for a grow house since that takes a while, but meth is quick. If that's what this was, I'm sure it's not the first time (and won't be the last). It's probably a better scam if you don't destroy the place.
- JanezStupar 15y agoEvents like this present a pretty big moral dilemma about Internet anonymity - at least in context of this category of services.
- Bogdanp 15y agoI had to check the FAQ question about the piano. It used to be at http://www.airbnb.com/help/question/31 http://www.airbnb.com/help/question/31 but they seem to have removed it.
- mapgrep 15y agoSorry, but the moment of truth has already passed because the moment of truth was when Airbnb didn't bake effective safeguards against this sort of behavior into the very heart of their website for lending your home to complete strangers. Honestly, if you explain the business model of Airbnb to any ordinary run of the mill US citizen not residing in Silicon Valley, their very first question is going to be, "Why would I trust a stranger in this situation?" Airbnb's response was a joke in their FAQ about a grand piano. It shouldn't have been. I have rented vacation apartments in Europe and there are plenty of ways to do this RIGHT, starting with identity exposure. There should have been a set of procedures for people to identify and vet one another BEFORE completing the sale. Of course this would have meant that some Airbnb customers would cut deals directly with one another and screw Airbnb out of its revenue share. OH WELL. Safety has a price and a clever entrepreneur would devise incentives - rental history, quality public feedback and ratings - to discourage people from going outside the system. This isn't just one incident Airbnb needs to respond better to. It exposes a deep flaw, not only in their systems for preventing these types of incidents but for responding to them as well (it took 14 hours and a friend's intervention to get a call returned from the "urgent" hotline, wtf?). What is especially infuriating about this is that, in an effort to bolster their income statement and become a hot company, Airbnb has created very bad publicity for a FANTASTIC and growing form of lodging.
- Robin_Message 15y agoRenting your home remotely seems different to how I saw AirBnb in the past, where you would be renting a spare room and living with your guests. I think that would be more supported, especially given 76% of the US population is Christian, and hospitality is a Christian virtue (in particular, Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.) Lending your home as a holiday home already has well-established range of estate agents, cleaners and so on, (like Gîtes in France) so it can be done but relies on a more active role of the company organising the rentals.
- efsavage 15y agoI own a summer home and I was genuinely considering using Airbnb next year. No more. I can understand that they can't be too forthcoming, as people will trash their own place in hopes of a free remodel. However, if law enforcement says this is a legit case and even caught a suspect, Airbnb should have had someone onsite with a check in their hands the next day. How much amazing free press would this have generated for, what, $25k? Even if they offered $5k to get her place livable again they could have demonstrated some integrity. I don't know how much money they think they saved by betraying one of their business partners, but they should debit 5 or 10 years of my waterfront rental from that amount...
- ChuckFrank 15y agoNo brainer. Build insurance into the site. Renters can either opt for it or not, or AirBnBcan be provided it universally, their call. AirBnB needs to step up their protections. (my apologies if others have already suggested this.)
- dkokelley 15y agoWhile the right PR thing for Airbnb to do is cover the damages done, I am a little disappointed by the Airbnb hate I'm reading here. Why should they be held liable for the damages? Were they negligent? Airbnb offers a service. They match renters with houses. Do they make any warranty as to the reputation of the renters? Go to http://www.airbnb.com/terms http://www.airbnb.com/terms and read the very first section. I'll admit that the victim has a good point about the secrecy imposed between the parties by Airbnb, but that's just a policy, not a liability, and it can be changed. It's like buying a car that isn't as safe as it could be. Sure you could pay more and get a very safe car, but as long as the manufacturer didn't misrepresent the safety of the car, you will have a hard time holding the company liable when you get injured in a crash.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- maeon3 15y agoIf AirBnB comes to the rescue with lots of zeros on their donations to make the person whole. I can envison people taking advantage of this, Have your buddy ransack your house and steal all your stuff, then split the gain of having it all replaced.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- seagaia 15y agoMost unfortunate, but letting a complete stranger into your house with VALUABLES was never the best idea, moreover, with a company that hasn't said anything about this kind of issue before. I suppose this system has worked, but it's beyond me how you could ever trust a stranger to live in a place that you live in regularly and store many valuables in. I want to sympathize with the victim, but it's somewhat hard to given the circumstances. In any case, AirBnB should suck it up, fix this one situation, then go into full throttle with trying to come up with a plan to prevent future things of this sort.
- pg 15y agoBefore you all rush to judgment again, notice the update at the end of the article: "Update: I spoke with Brian Chesky. He says the company has offered “to assist financially, find new housing for the host, and anything else she can think of to make her life easier.” He says they intend to “go above and beyond” to make the situation right for her."
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- dhbanes 15y agoWhat about this from her own blog post? > I would be remiss if I didn’t pause here to emphasize that the customer service team at airbnb.com has been wonderful, giving this crime their full attention. They have called often, expressing empathy, support, and genuine concern for my welfare. They have offered to help me recover emotionally and financially... (http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travelers-lost-faith-difficult.html http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travele...) edit:formatting
- PedroCandeias 15y agoThe news and the hotel lobbies are going to be all over this. VCs are probably tapping their fingers on the table. Like others said already, If I were Brian, I'd have lunch with EJ, like, today. Whatever solution they find financially, Brian can't let ABnB's cool image turn all corporate and aloof by leaving this one to the lawyers and bean counters.
- da5e 15y agoArrington reported on her blog post and didn't get his facts straight about the financial help. What he quoted as an update was, in fact, already stated. The impression he gave of airbnb's indifference was unfair.
- lhnn 15y agoA related article talks about how David Patterson and the state of NY has made it illegal to rent your house to others a la AirBnB. If people want to trust others enough to risk this sort of crime, let them. Get the fuck out of my life, State.
- da5e 15y agoairbnb has had the advantage of having a mainly "geek" clientele so far. As it expands it's going to get less savory users.
- hnsmurf 15y agoIf I were AirBnB I'd be talking to an insurance company right now about offering supplemental insurance to renters. AirBnB could make a nice chunk, the way Best Buy does when it gets you to purchase those stupid protection plans, and simultaneously offer users peace of mind that this will at least be taken care of if it happens to them,
- dsfwefew 15y agoONLINE STORE : ====( http://www.etradinglife.com http://www.etradinglife.com )===== The website wholesale for many kinds of fashion shoes, like the nike,jordan,prada,, also including the jeans,shirts,bags,hat and the decorations. All the products are free shipping, and the the price is competitive, and also can accept the paypal payment.,after the payment, can ship within short time. free shipping competitive price any size available accept the paypal jordan shoes $32 nike shox $32 Christan Audigier bikini $23 Ed Hardy Bikini $23 Smful short_t-shirt_woman $15 ed hardy short_tank_woman $16 Sandal $32 christian louboutin $80 Sunglass $15 COACH_Necklace $27 handbag $33 AF tank woman $17 puma slipper woman $30 ====( http://www.etradinglife.com http://www.etradinglife.com )=====
- rwhitman 15y agoSo I definitely got partly scammed in NYC a few months ago by a friendly-seeming girl who found an apartment for the weekend on AirBnB and then promptly turned around and posted it for sublet on Craigslist as her own, raking in thousands in cash "security deposit" money from a number of un-suspecting apartment seekers. I love Airbnb but there are so many loopholes for disaster like this. As Airbnb goes mainstream, I expect there will be many more similarly unhappy stories on their way...
- code_duck 15y agoI can't imagine leaving my house for a week, to rent it out to complete strangers, with all of my possessions in it. I'd be afraid they'd rifle through m belongings and perhaps steal some, or even something like this would happen. Maybe they'll copy the keys and come back and rob the place three weeks later. How would one be sure? All in all, being an AiBnB host is a questionable enterprise.
- lclaude01 15y agoEbay had the same kind of customer nightmare cases in their early days and still are in business today. The following news from March 09, 2001 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/09/business/3-men-are-charged-with-fraud-in-1100-art-auctions-on-ebay.html http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/09/business/3-men-are-charged...
- campnic 15y agoI am relieved that this individual is alright. Just imagine if she had returned home early and decided to check in or something and found the individuals in the act. Who knows what the reaction would be. I'm happy it's (mostly) just things that have been lost. What if she would have returned early and been murdered for witnessing something she wasn't supposed to? It seems like airbnb has a huge exposure here and if this woman doesn't attempt to cash out on airbnb, i would expect to see a case where that does happen. They are a very ripe target.
- juliano_q 15y agoMaybe it is because I live in a 3rd world country where we dont have enough security (Brazil), but I would never think about renting my place to a complete stranger. I would think a lot to rent it even after a lot of interview and research, but I would remove all personal and expensive objects. That said, I feel really bad for the girl and I hope she recovers. Most people are good, but there are a big number of bad people around to justify some level of security concern.
- niels_olson 15y agoThis is a great example of how journalists will shamelessly jump all over a story and selectively represent the truth to the point that, taken as a whole, the article becomes a misrepresentation.
- devaholic 15y ago"Update: I spoke with Brian Chesky. He says the company has offered “to assist financially, find new housing for the host, and anything else she can think of to make her life easier.” He says they intend to “go above and beyond” to make the situation right for her. This is different than what a company spokesperson said earlier (see above). I asked Brian if this sets a new policy, and he responded that they’ll look at it on a case by case basis." Basically what they mean by "case by case basis" is that if you cause enough of a media shitstorm to make them look bad, they'll step in and help. And they'll look at your case to determine if you are causing enough ruckus to validate them going "above and beyond." At least, that's what I gleaned from it.
- perfunctory 15y agoExcuse me this naive question, I haven't been following the Airbnb, but how is there service better compared to say free Craiglist?
- jcc80 15y agoTheir website is much more pretty...jk.
- farrel 15y agoIf you're going to rent out a fully furnished apartment full of valuables to strangers who you can't vet beforehand the insurance costs will be significant. I have a feeling AirBnB don't offer insurance because the premiums required (and the cost passed on to hosts) would make the entire thing unprofitable. Hotels have insurance but it is probably much much lower than what AirBnB could provide to hosts because hotels already have a) security infrastructure in place b) your credit card details and c) your agreement to be held liable for damages.
- earbitscom 15y agoI'll go out on a limb here and point out that this is just a broken window and some unobservant neighbors away from having nothing at all to do with AirBnB or the concept of short term rentals. These people are criminals and should be treated as such. Just like you can meet a violent person while dating through Match.com, you can rent out your place to a terrible person using any number of services. The service is something people want and can only do so much to make the marketplace safe. Anytime you connect with strangers, whether it's through AirBnB, the newspaper, a dating service, or by meeting them at a grocery store, there are risks to letting them into your lives. AirBnB is doing the right thing now, and if anything, it's good that this incident will make users of the service more careful. You can't expect companies to perfectly guard every user against every edge case when human elements are involved.
- aab1d 15y agoThis may sound whacky, but maybe airbnb can get into deal with the insurance guys. Maybe a little bit of extra premium but at-least all users who subscribe to a monthly insurance at airbnb are safe. Stupid as it sounds, may just work. This would be a new means for insurers to sell as well.
- bluekite2000 15y agoI rented an upstair room to a backpacker a month ago in Saigon Vietnam. On his last day, he picked up some chick off the street, brought her home and locked the front door from the inside. My staff ( I have an online bookstore there) couldn't get in for half a day. I sent airbnb a message complaining and heard nothing back from them. I don't think it is that hard to hold a credit card number of the guest just in case stuff like this happens. Why they are not doing it is beyond me.
- int3rnaut 15y agoIt does seem a bit strange that this story from June breaks just days after AirBnB rakes in 112 million in funding.
- zenica 15y agoI wonder why the initial response was "They won’t reimburse her for damages"? Does this mean that as soon as Brian & co are not involved in day to day operation the service AirBnB offers will deteriorate?