3 ms·

The difference between Airbnb and VRBO is that VRBO is mainly a rental listing site. It's pretty clear to both the house owner and the renter. However, Airbnb

The difference between Airbnb and VRBO is that VRBO is mainly a rental listing site. It's pretty clear to both the house owner and the renter. However, Airbnb presents itself as a service where they actually process payment for you and broker the rental transaction. It streamlines the process but also gives the impression that Airbnb is more than just a rental listing site. I think that's why this incident is more problematic for Airbnb. If this happened at a VRBO house, I don't think the publicity and implications would be as serious. It's kind of like Craigslist vs Ebay. Ebay brokers the transaction and thus carries more responsibility if people are scammed or harmed in transactions. Thus, Ebay gives buyers some automatic buyer protection. However, Craigslist doesn't broker the transaction. They merely allow people to post. Thus they have lower exposure of responsibility. Airbnb is more along the lines of Ebay.

dave1619 15y ago
This is my suggestion to the Airbnb CEO... "Dear EJ, We really messed up and I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry for trying to cover up the incident and asking you to edit your blog post. I'm sorry that we didn't attend enough to your personal well-being and recovery after the incident. We should have done more, and for that I'm truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me and my company. Though it's late in coming, we'd like to give you some real help to help you get back on your feet. First, we will pay for all damaged property and compensate you for your inconvenience and lost work time. Just tally the damaged items and their worth. For your inconvenience and lost work time we would like to give 3 months salary compensation (just let us know your monthly salary and we'll times that by three and send you a check). Second, we will pay your rent for any place you find for the next year (rent limit is $10,000/month). Please find a good, safe place. Third, we will provide you with a full-time assistant for the next two months. You can find your own assistant and we will pay them directly, or we can find you one. The assistant can help you with any of your needs, including but not limited to helping you find your lost items, new housing, research, etc. Fourth, I have authorized our customer service manager, XXX, to be your official point of contact in our company and make sure you are well-attended to. Her phone number is, 999-999-999 and her email is xxxx@zzz.com . Again, I deeply apologize for my actions and my company's. Regards, ..."
- llambda 15y ago
  They already offered to pay for a new apartment and new furniture as well as anything else she needed to assist her in recovery[1][2]...this story is really getting old. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2822721 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2822721 "Airbnb has been offering to fix it, from the very beginning. From the beginning they offered to pay to get her a new place and new stuff, and do whatever else she wanted." [2] http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html "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, and are working with SFPD to track down these criminals."
  - da5e 15y ago
    ej's latest post seems to indicate airbnb did not follow through.
  - ebaysucks 15y ago
    They should put a dollar amount on their offer and get a deal signed - indluding a secrecy agreement. Offering "tell us all you need" sounds cute but turns the victim into a begger.
- jmtame 15y ago
  According to the founders, Airbnb has offered to cover her losses all along, from the very beginning. If that's true, and in fact she rejected the help and rejected meeting with the founders as she claims she did, then Airbnb did everything it could do in its power to help. Airbnb has nothing to apologize for if all of that is true. As much as I sympathize with the unlucky and unfortunate circumstances of the victim, the ultimate responsibility lies on the renters. This is going to happen again as Airbnb grows bigger and more people join the site; it's inevitable, just as there exists crime in people's homes now. If you're planning to rent out your apartment for a week, you really should meet the rentee in person, take steps to secure your own possessions from possible theft in advance, and secure the proper insurance (whether that's obtained through a future Airbnb offering or privately through an insurance company). When you rent a hotel room, they typically provide a safe lock because the same risk of getting your possessions stolen exists; this is no different. I'm not trying to be dismissive of the victim, it really sucks this happened to EJ and the Airbnb team has been very open to offering help from what I've noticed lately. Fortunately, justice was served to the perpetrator, which is the important part. What EJ needs to do now is press charges and sue Faith Clinton for emotional damage and theft. I don't know how much the press will pursue this, and who knows how much it will affect Airbnb's reputation. I have a feeling this will blow over and I think Airbnb has made it clear they're willing to help as long as EJ will accept it; it wouldn't affect my own willingness to rent personally because I know after 2 million nights you're probably bound to have a few lunatics. Interestingly, someone in the previous threads accurately predicted it was a meth tweaker who fit the profile of the ransacking.

dave1619 15y ago

This is my suggestion to the Airbnb CEO... "Dear EJ, We really messed up and I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry for trying to cover up the incident and asking you to edit your blog post. I'm sorry that we didn't attend enough to your personal well-being and recovery after the incident. We should have done more, and for that I'm truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me and my company. Though it's late in coming, we'd like to give you some real help to help you get back on your feet. First, we will pay for all damaged property and compensate you for your inconvenience and lost work time. Just tally the damaged items and their worth. For your inconvenience and lost work time we would like to give 3 months salary compensation (just let us know your monthly salary and we'll times that by three and send you a check). Second, we will pay your rent for any place you find for the next year (rent limit is $10,000/month). Please find a good, safe place. Third, we will provide you with a full-time assistant for the next two months. You can find your own assistant and we will pay them directly, or we can find you one. The assistant can help you with any of your needs, including but not limited to helping you find your lost items, new housing, research, etc. Fourth, I have authorized our customer service manager, XXX, to be your official point of contact in our company and make sure you are well-attended to. Her phone number is, 999-999-999 and her email is xxxx@zzz.com . Again, I deeply apologize for my actions and my company's. Regards, ..."

llambda 15y ago
They already offered to pay for a new apartment and new furniture as well as anything else she needed to assist her in recovery[1][2]...this story is really getting old. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2822721 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2822721 "Airbnb has been offering to fix it, from the very beginning. From the beginning they offered to pay to get her a new place and new stuff, and do whatever else she wanted." [2] http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html "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, and are working with SFPD to track down these criminals."
- da5e 15y ago
  ej's latest post seems to indicate airbnb did not follow through.
- ebaysucks 15y ago
  They should put a dollar amount on their offer and get a deal signed - indluding a secrecy agreement. Offering "tell us all you need" sounds cute but turns the victim into a begger.
jmtame 15y ago
According to the founders, Airbnb has offered to cover her losses all along, from the very beginning. If that's true, and in fact she rejected the help and rejected meeting with the founders as she claims she did, then Airbnb did everything it could do in its power to help. Airbnb has nothing to apologize for if all of that is true. As much as I sympathize with the unlucky and unfortunate circumstances of the victim, the ultimate responsibility lies on the renters. This is going to happen again as Airbnb grows bigger and more people join the site; it's inevitable, just as there exists crime in people's homes now. If you're planning to rent out your apartment for a week, you really should meet the rentee in person, take steps to secure your own possessions from possible theft in advance, and secure the proper insurance (whether that's obtained through a future Airbnb offering or privately through an insurance company). When you rent a hotel room, they typically provide a safe lock because the same risk of getting your possessions stolen exists; this is no different. I'm not trying to be dismissive of the victim, it really sucks this happened to EJ and the Airbnb team has been very open to offering help from what I've noticed lately. Fortunately, justice was served to the perpetrator, which is the important part. What EJ needs to do now is press charges and sue Faith Clinton for emotional damage and theft. I don't know how much the press will pursue this, and who knows how much it will affect Airbnb's reputation. I have a feeling this will blow over and I think Airbnb has made it clear they're willing to help as long as EJ will accept it; it wouldn't affect my own willingness to rent personally because I know after 2 million nights you're probably bound to have a few lunatics. Interestingly, someone in the previous threads accurately predicted it was a meth tweaker who fit the profile of the ransacking.