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This is my little 2 cents on this whole fiasco that seems not to go away. All this would not have come to this if Airbnb guys asked themselves a simple questio

This is my little 2 cents on this whole fiasco that seems not to go away. All this would not have come to this if Airbnb guys asked themselves a simple question. How would I handle this if this happened to my sister of wife. The main problem is Airbnb had about a month to fix this before it became 'viral'. It was only the post by TC that made me realise this issue was about a month ago (30 days!). As a fan of Airbnb, (I have not used the service, but i have given them a few customers), I am a bit disappointed in the response. I do not blame them for waat happened to EJ. The problem that has happened is as a result of their reaction to what had happened. I am kind of amazed that after a month, not one of the founders has gone to see the house (they have the address) but rather they have been doing "everything" to help. This is politician talk, not startup talk. Why startups were really cool was the possibility of getting in touch with the founder of it rather than the "automated customer service of big companies". The only actionable thing Airbnb have done during the last few days fiasco is try to cover their asses. i.e change the security page, write a blog post on TC and defend themselves. Now anything they do will not be perceived in good faith but in reaction to the angry mob (as PG calls it). It is never good to be reactionary. If I were the CEO of Airbnb, I would do this: Go and look physically and look at the house. Go and look for the victim and be sincere in my apology and request for another chance to start again. Behave as if it was my sister this thing happened to. I really hope some good "no win no fee" lawyer has not got to her first. When you are successful, people are out there trying to hang you, please Airbnb, do not give them a rope. I wish you guys all the best!

bugsy 15y ago
I agree with your general sentiment, but as far as visiting the house that is a very bad idea unless they are specifically invited by EJ. Otherwise they could get accused of not believing that the damage really occurred and checking up on her. It could look very bad, and would definitely be made to look bad by aggressive bloggers. There would definitely be posts and comments saying things like, "Why are their lawyers searching her house? Don't they believe she was robbed! Look at the police report you dolts, you don't have to invade her privacy! Not at a time like this you insensitive clods." If on the other hand she does invite them to see the damage, they should definitely go.
chrischen 15y ago
So how would they help this person? Reimburse her? AirBnb is technically not liable for those damages right? So how much do they give her? If it's too little it might be insulting. Too much and people would still complain about irreparable emotional damage. They said they're trying to help catch the perpetrator right? In my eyes that's all they really can do and the only thing that matters. The damages are primarily the girl's responsibility but the criminal is partially Airbnb's fault.
- babebridou 15y ago
  I believe the answer to the question "what can AirBnb do?" is really only somewhere deep within the subconsciousness of the victim, and can't be found in a book, nor on an internet forum. Just move your butt and go ask her in person what she needs. Chances are, the first things the victim needs is in the likes of a roof and some emotional council - a cup of coffee, a discussion, a phone number and maybe a few hundred bucks for immediate expenses can help pave the way for the next steps, which are damage assessment and recovery. It's cheap, considerate and probably much more effective than a simple "sorry" press release. And it has nothing, nothing to do with legal responsibility/liability at this point. When someone is distressed enough to ask specifically for my help, it's the kind of things I'd eagerly do, whether it's my fault or not.
  - chrischen 15y ago
    She does not seem to have accepted Airbnb's financial compensations... So I don't think that's the issue. I'm almost absolutely certain Airbnb would have asked the question "How can we make this right?" Anyone would ask that question. What I suspect is that the girl was not able to answer that question when Airbnb asked it and thus doesn't know what she needs to fix this situation. So naturally she needs an outlet and so she blogged about it.
- pbreit 15y ago
  > AirBnb is technically not liable for those damages right? Totally irrelevant. This has obviously gone beyond "technical liability".

bugsy 15y ago

I agree with your general sentiment, but as far as visiting the house that is a very bad idea unless they are specifically invited by EJ. Otherwise they could get accused of not believing that the damage really occurred and checking up on her. It could look very bad, and would definitely be made to look bad by aggressive bloggers. There would definitely be posts and comments saying things like, "Why are their lawyers searching her house? Don't they believe she was robbed! Look at the police report you dolts, you don't have to invade her privacy! Not at a time like this you insensitive clods." If on the other hand she does invite them to see the damage, they should definitely go.

chrischen 15y ago

So how would they help this person? Reimburse her? AirBnb is technically not liable for those damages right? So how much do they give her? If it's too little it might be insulting. Too much and people would still complain about irreparable emotional damage. They said they're trying to help catch the perpetrator right? In my eyes that's all they really can do and the only thing that matters. The damages are primarily the girl's responsibility but the criminal is partially Airbnb's fault.

babebridou 15y ago
I believe the answer to the question "what can AirBnb do?" is really only somewhere deep within the subconsciousness of the victim, and can't be found in a book, nor on an internet forum. Just move your butt and go ask her in person what she needs. Chances are, the first things the victim needs is in the likes of a roof and some emotional council - a cup of coffee, a discussion, a phone number and maybe a few hundred bucks for immediate expenses can help pave the way for the next steps, which are damage assessment and recovery. It's cheap, considerate and probably much more effective than a simple "sorry" press release. And it has nothing, nothing to do with legal responsibility/liability at this point. When someone is distressed enough to ask specifically for my help, it's the kind of things I'd eagerly do, whether it's my fault or not.
- chrischen 15y ago
  She does not seem to have accepted Airbnb's financial compensations... So I don't think that's the issue. I'm almost absolutely certain Airbnb would have asked the question "How can we make this right?" Anyone would ask that question. What I suspect is that the girl was not able to answer that question when Airbnb asked it and thus doesn't know what she needs to fix this situation. So naturally she needs an outlet and so she blogged about it.
pbreit 15y ago
> AirBnb is technically not liable for those damages right? Totally irrelevant. This has obviously gone beyond "technical liability".