7 ms·

Sounds to me like Paul Graham has made a fairly fundamental and common mistake, which is to say believing the AirBnb people when they reassure him that everythi

Sounds to me like Paul Graham has made a fairly fundamental and common mistake, which is to say believing the AirBnb people when they reassure him that everything is under control and there's no fire here. Paul, if you actually read the statements made by the CEO on news.ycombinator.com, it's very clear that AirBnb are the primary, if not only, ones at fault here. I don't want to call Paul a liar, since it seems likely to me that he has just made a mistake of believing someone else. But he's putting his own reputation behind AirBnb, and AirBnb is lying. That's unwise. Let me compare a different response that I'm familiar with. A friend of mine had her apartment destroyed in the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks. Insurance companies came and set up booths in Manhattan and were cutting checks left and right, without even SEEING the damage. My friend had a check in her hand on 9/13 if I recall correctly. She didn't get in to SEE her own apartment until a month later, and the insurance company didn't see it until much later than that. As of today and yesterday, there are articles in newspapers across the land. There are phrases like "As of Friday afternoon, Airbnb had not returned calls from The [Washington] Post requesting comment." - that's a quote from a WashPost story, of course. One thing I know: when the Washington Post calls and a company has something good to say about themselves, they take the call (calls, actually). It's apparent from the latest newspaper stories that AirBnb is now reacting in a cover-it-up fashion - they're trying to offer the woman a sum of money with the condition that she shut up. That's fine, I guess - very corporate of them. But frankly I expected better. I guess I sort of expected that even if AirBnb was being dumb, that when the first article hit news.yc, that someone would call them and straighten them out. Instead it seems that PG, also, is blinded by "going to be as big as Ebay".

true_religion 15y ago
Air BNB is specifically not an insurrance company. They technically have no obligation to pay in the case of any damage. For them, the best possible course of action was to bury this case. However, now that it's come into the public light they're torn between (a) trying to re-iterate to everyone that they do not have liability and (b) trying to look good by doing the "Right Thing". As a business owner, I feel for them. As a human being, I feel for her. I too am torn, and think that there is going to be no satisfactory resolution to this situation. Someone is not going to come away 'whole', and most likely it will be AirBNB.
- BasDirks 15y ago
  The insurance company technically had no obligation to be as humane as they were. That's the point :D
  - jmtame 15y ago
    True. But the people getting the checks weren't writing blog posts warning people not to buy apartments in NYC either. I'm not saying Airbnb is right or wrong, but to make a matter like that a public spectacle might influence insurance companies to behave differently, not just Airbnb.
- geekfactor 15y ago
  The irony of course is that the story didn't go viral for almost a month after it was written. That was plenty of time for them to make things right, take good care of the woman, and get an NDA and non-disparagement agreement in place. Based on her account they didn't even attempt to do so. Instead they chose to "let it ride" and as a result have lost way more in goodwill than this could have ever cost them "making things right."
- clobber 15y ago
  Now you have to be an insurance company to do the "right thing"? Airbnb had a chance to take care of this from the very beginning and we wouldn't even be talking about this right now if they had. That's the point.
  - chc 15y ago
    The thing that you're describing as "the right thing" is the function of an insurance company.
    - clobber 15y ago
      I'm describing Airbnb averting a PR nightmare (which this has become). This is a pretty valuable lesson for any startup.
- 15y ago
breck 15y ago
> it's very clear that AirBnb are the primary, if not only, ones at fault here. No. Some terrible human being who should be in jail is at fault here. Airbnb and YC are all run by great people. Responding to a crisis like this is never easy. Responding to your first crisis like this is hardest of all. I wouldn't blame Michael Arrington at all, either. I think he's done a great job at reporting this. But it's not his first rodeo, for some of the other people involved it is, and so I'm not surprised they've made some mistakes. Also, in regard to the so called "coverup", it's totally natural when someone says bad things about you on the internet to ask them to take them down. That's not a "cover up". That's "being human". Imagine if someone posted a diatribe against one of your children. As a parent, wouldn't you want to get that taken down? Airbnb is these guys' baby. I grew up in a political family and all the time my father and my family would get slammed in the paper and online. I used to have a knee jerk reaction and email people asking them to take things down. It hurts when people say shit about you, especially if you haven't developed really think skin. EJ is a great writer, so it makes the post that much more stinging. It shouldn't be taken down, but we shouldn't imagine Airbnb's asking for it to be taken down some nefarious "coverup". It's only human.
- ceejayoz 15y ago
  > No. Some terrible human being who should be in jail is at fault here. Not really, at least where the unfolding PR catastrophe is concerned.
- scottkduncan 15y ago
  This is the first big PR blow-up for Airbnb, but they are not a brand new company any more and they had to expect that they would have an event like this (or even worse, a rape or murder) that would raise questions about their business model and force them to respond publicly. The weak response to date shows that either A) they weren't anticipating this likely bump in the road or, B) they were anticipating it and their gameplan was to try to cover it up. Either of those circumstances is disappointing to me.
  - billswift 15y ago
    Or C, they had a plan for it, but when it actually happened they panicked, forgot the plan, and stuck their foot in it up to their armpit. Many people who have not had to deal with sudden difficulties don't seem to realize just how strong the tendency is to forget plans, intentions, and just do whatever you first think of. That is why serious martial artists, the military, and EMTs train, and train, and train some more. They have to respond correctly even when they aren't expecting problems to crop up.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- mypov 15y ago
  Your comment is unnecessarily aggressive and the facts available to you can not possibly support making such a statement.
  - jpdoctor 15y ago
    > and the facts available to you OK, time for a quiz. Someone who has made an investment is going to take the side that is a. good for investment returns, or b. bad for investment returns. This isn't rocket science. And if basic observations of human nature are "unnecessarily agressive", then so be it.
    - jpdoctor 15y ago
      Ug. You were replying to a deleted comment. My apologies. I'd delete my comment if possible, but the delete key has vanished.
jpdoctor 15y ago
FTA: "Even if you don’t believe they are nice guys (which they are, among the nicest of all the people we’ve funded)" Why anyone would believe somebody with a vested financial interest is beyond me.
Ulankgz 15y ago
>It's apparent from the latest newspaper stories that AirBnb is now reacting in a cover-it-up fashion - they're trying to offer the woman a sum of money with the condition that she shut up. That's fine, I guess - very corporate of them. In this situation, when the scandal has matured it's too late to cover up. If Airbnb guys believe in their rightness, they are obliged to defend it openly and strongly in all media. Then they have a chance to get unscrewed. And if these guys will continue to fuss and to get nervous it will only make things worse. The main thing is not to make more stupid and unnecessary mistakes

true_religion 15y ago

Air BNB is specifically not an insurrance company. They technically have no obligation to pay in the case of any damage. For them, the best possible course of action was to bury this case. However, now that it's come into the public light they're torn between (a) trying to re-iterate to everyone that they do not have liability and (b) trying to look good by doing the "Right Thing". As a business owner, I feel for them. As a human being, I feel for her. I too am torn, and think that there is going to be no satisfactory resolution to this situation. Someone is not going to come away 'whole', and most likely it will be AirBNB.

BasDirks 15y ago
The insurance company technically had no obligation to be as humane as they were. That's the point :D
- jmtame 15y ago
  True. But the people getting the checks weren't writing blog posts warning people not to buy apartments in NYC either. I'm not saying Airbnb is right or wrong, but to make a matter like that a public spectacle might influence insurance companies to behave differently, not just Airbnb.
geekfactor 15y ago
The irony of course is that the story didn't go viral for almost a month after it was written. That was plenty of time for them to make things right, take good care of the woman, and get an NDA and non-disparagement agreement in place. Based on her account they didn't even attempt to do so. Instead they chose to "let it ride" and as a result have lost way more in goodwill than this could have ever cost them "making things right."
clobber 15y ago
Now you have to be an insurance company to do the "right thing"? Airbnb had a chance to take care of this from the very beginning and we wouldn't even be talking about this right now if they had. That's the point.
- chc 15y ago
  The thing that you're describing as "the right thing" is the function of an insurance company.
  - clobber 15y ago
    I'm describing Airbnb averting a PR nightmare (which this has become). This is a pretty valuable lesson for any startup.
15y ago

breck 15y ago

> it's very clear that AirBnb are the primary, if not only, ones at fault here. No. Some terrible human being who should be in jail is at fault here. Airbnb and YC are all run by great people. Responding to a crisis like this is never easy. Responding to your first crisis like this is hardest of all. I wouldn't blame Michael Arrington at all, either. I think he's done a great job at reporting this. But it's not his first rodeo, for some of the other people involved it is, and so I'm not surprised they've made some mistakes. Also, in regard to the so called "coverup", it's totally natural when someone says bad things about you on the internet to ask them to take them down. That's not a "cover up". That's "being human". Imagine if someone posted a diatribe against one of your children. As a parent, wouldn't you want to get that taken down? Airbnb is these guys' baby. I grew up in a political family and all the time my father and my family would get slammed in the paper and online. I used to have a knee jerk reaction and email people asking them to take things down. It hurts when people say shit about you, especially if you haven't developed really think skin. EJ is a great writer, so it makes the post that much more stinging. It shouldn't be taken down, but we shouldn't imagine Airbnb's asking for it to be taken down some nefarious "coverup". It's only human.

ceejayoz 15y ago
> No. Some terrible human being who should be in jail is at fault here. Not really, at least where the unfolding PR catastrophe is concerned.
scottkduncan 15y ago
This is the first big PR blow-up for Airbnb, but they are not a brand new company any more and they had to expect that they would have an event like this (or even worse, a rape or murder) that would raise questions about their business model and force them to respond publicly. The weak response to date shows that either A) they weren't anticipating this likely bump in the road or, B) they were anticipating it and their gameplan was to try to cover it up. Either of those circumstances is disappointing to me.
- billswift 15y ago
  Or C, they had a plan for it, but when it actually happened they panicked, forgot the plan, and stuck their foot in it up to their armpit. Many people who have not had to deal with sudden difficulties don't seem to realize just how strong the tendency is to forget plans, intentions, and just do whatever you first think of. That is why serious martial artists, the military, and EMTs train, and train, and train some more. They have to respond correctly even when they aren't expecting problems to crop up.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

mypov 15y ago
Your comment is unnecessarily aggressive and the facts available to you can not possibly support making such a statement.
- jpdoctor 15y ago
  > and the facts available to you OK, time for a quiz. Someone who has made an investment is going to take the side that is a. good for investment returns, or b. bad for investment returns. This isn't rocket science. And if basic observations of human nature are "unnecessarily agressive", then so be it.
  - jpdoctor 15y ago
    Ug. You were replying to a deleted comment. My apologies. I'd delete my comment if possible, but the delete key has vanished.

jpdoctor 15y ago

FTA: "Even if you don’t believe they are nice guys (which they are, among the nicest of all the people we’ve funded)" Why anyone would believe somebody with a vested financial interest is beyond me.

Ulankgz 15y ago

>It's apparent from the latest newspaper stories that AirBnb is now reacting in a cover-it-up fashion - they're trying to offer the woman a sum of money with the condition that she shut up. That's fine, I guess - very corporate of them. In this situation, when the scandal has matured it's too late to cover up. If Airbnb guys believe in their rightness, they are obliged to defend it openly and strongly in all media. Then they have a chance to get unscrewed. And if these guys will continue to fuss and to get nervous it will only make things worse. The main thing is not to make more stupid and unnecessary mistakes