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This is a little out of hand now, and it really isn't because of anything fundamentally wrong with AirBnB. The vast majority of the issue is that AirBnB is not

This is a little out of hand now, and it really isn't because of anything fundamentally wrong with AirBnB. The vast majority of the issue is that AirBnB is not reacting well to the crisis, and that the PR is being handled about as clumsily as possible. Y-Combinator needs a PR firm. That much is clear from the AirBnB fall out over the last few days, and I'm not talking about a PR firm to cheer lead for YC, or a PR firm to respond to this or any particular incident. Instead, they need a PR firm that will evaluate risks of the evolving start-ups, in particular focusing on ones with lots of funding and press exposure. The firm's role would be to anticipate and plan for potential fall out. In times of trouble, the firm would be poised to jump in and coach the team on the appropriate way to respond to crisis in the public eye. A good PR firm would know that saying the word "funding" to the victim was simply not a good idea, and would have advised the founders as such before any meetings with the victim. I think public relations is like a dirty word in the valley, but PR need not be an unethical or otherwise bad practice, and in this case, the right support would have made a world of difference. The firm really could just be an observer, except in times of crisis. It may be beneficial for the firm to interact with the start-ups, but I think this would at least lead to resistance, given the culture of technical-centric organizations. Simply having an impartial observer with a nose for media problems would avert some crises.

rednaught 15y ago
I've often wondered this this isn't part of the "foundations" portion that is mentioned in the description of the YCombinator program. Not only a PR firm as you mentioned but a couple of training sessions in PR AND ethics before launch even happens. A core set of skills and knowledge is more than merely a founder and a great idea these days. I count at least three YCombinator startups that have stumbled severely with PR not once but multiple times: Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB.
- skmurphy 15y ago
  Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB have made poor business decisions. It's a PR problem when you explain a good decision poorly.
  - bgentry 15y ago
    Good point! Dropbox has had the same kind of problem dealing with unfavorable coverage.
- adharmad 15y ago
  And Loopt recently, although they handled it pretty well.
joe_the_user 15y ago
Hmm, In my understanding of it, in outline this was handled the way conventional PR firms have handled corporate problems - fix it in private and ignore it/deny it in public. Especially, offering aid contingent on silence (which MJ's kind of indicates was done). It seems like "The Ole' PR stonewall" just isn't a good model for startups. Instead, a better model is do the right thing, from the start, publicly and privately (obviously, you need to articulate clearly what you're doing so you still corporate communications). Google, at its best, has benefited from this approach.
- andrewljohnson 15y ago
  That's just the stereotype. I worked for a small PR firm, on a portfolio of small tech companies, where I felt proud of how we operated. The good firms realize that the most effective way to combat crisis like these is to over-deliver on your obligations to anyone hurt, and to lead the charge in providing information to the public. I've never worked PR for tobacco or big oil companies, but I imagine that's where the stereotype comes from. It's pretty easy to do good, ethical PR for a bunch of nerds programming computers.
  - iamdave 15y ago
    Under-promise, over-deliver is our mantra in my team. You nailed it.
- kragen 15y ago
  The ol' PR stonewall has never been a good model for any company that's pissed off a journalist. Nowadays, it seems like it's maybe not a good model if you've pissed off anybody who can write clearly and coherently, regardless of whether or not they're employed as a journalist, because a well-written and gripping blog post like EJ's can draw a lot of attention, even without journalist assistance. Although, as we saw, it can take a while. A month in this case. From http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto: The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media. Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.... As a result, markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organized. Participation in a networked market changes people fundamentally. People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to commoditized products. There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.... Companies that don't realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity. Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.... Public Relations does not relate to the public. Companies are deeply afraid of their markets.... Don't worry, you can still make money. That is, as long as it's not the only thing on your mind.... We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting. When the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto wrote the above theses in 1999, they sounded radical, utopian, even unrealistic. Now they are, or should be, common sense. Airbnb exists in large part because of the truth of these theses. So why are they reverting to 1950s-style corporate blackmail when faced with this crisis?
Lewisham 15y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if EJ doesn't have a PR person nudging her along. Her statements about being "violated" and "unsafe" means she sounds like she wants AirBnB to do the impossible and repair her, not her belongings. She sounds like she's inconsolable and nothing can be done to make it right, but boy, does blabbing about how upset she is in every possible media outlet make it feel a little better! I think she's looking for more than just replacement, but a sizable settlement. I won't be surprised if we see legal papers in the next week.
- andrewljohnson 15y ago
  At this point, it did occur to me that she is angling for a much bigger settlement than just her furnishings. And if so, I imagine it's not a PR firm coaching her, but rather a lawyer.
  - joelhooks 15y ago
    I've done a lot of work with plaintiff's attorneys and one thing I've never seen is them encouraging people to publicly express their whoa. You don't want the other side to know what you are going to drop.
    - palish 15y ago
      Their... woe?
      - joelhooks 15y ago
        ya, channeling Joey Lawrence. Thanks for the rapid grammar feedback.
- mayank 15y ago
  That's very cynical -- can't she just be articulate and feeling violated?
  - jsavimbi 15y ago
jonknee 15y ago
Why is it up to YC? They only have a small chunk of Airbnb, there are many other larger shareholders. The most motivated investors to have a smooth fix here would be the ones that just sank in over $100M at a sky-high $1.3B valuation.
- iamdave 15y ago
  If it can be twisted (and someone will twist it) to sound as if YC were funding startups that result in considerate consumer risk, things could escalate rapidly to a place I can imagine they don't want it going.
  - tptacek 15y ago
    That's nice. But all the Internet message board sentiment in the world doesn't change the fact that YC doesn't represent Airbnb. Even if YC wanted to help with Airbnb's crisis management, they are a tiny minority investor in the company. Unless Paul Graham is secretly on their board, they probably can't do anything at all about this.
- andrewljohnson 15y ago
  It's just an economies of scale thing. YC has hundreds of start-ups, and a few will have issues at any given time. I don't think it's up to YC because they are obligated to, just because I think it would be worthwhile.
  - wheels 15y ago
    Even if YC did have such a thing, consider that Airbnb has raised like 20x more than YC has invested into their entire portfolio since 2005. Airbnb is worth more than YC. It's not that YC doesn't give tips on how to do some of your initial PR, but once you're at the level that Airbnb is at you're not going to be relying on YC freebies.
- wheels 15y ago
  Yeah, the implied YC association in all of this is a bit bizarre. AirBnB raised about 0.01% of their financing from YC. They've got a strong board comprised of some very experienced, good VCs. Saying that YC should handle this would be like suggesting that Bill Gate's Harvard fraternity should clean up Microsoft's faux pas. (That's a bit hyperbolic, but I think you see what I'm getting at.) Interestingly, perhaps, I see YC's connection to this story as more that it runs the site that broke the story: this one. I suspect pg getting involved is more because he personally likes the AirBnB founders rather than that he sees it as the responsibility of YC.
sunchild 15y ago
I don't really think you need an expert to anticipate this exact sort of problem with AirBnB. It's precisely the reason that I and many others never use the service – it's wildly obvious that this risk existed from the start. Handling this eventuality should have been planned and scripted from day one.
- jmtame 15y ago
  Airbnb has settled these cases before, as another commenter noted here. I have been completely sympathetic to EJ all along, but as I read more of her interview comments, I'm starting to wonder if there's even anything Airbnb could do to help at this point (or any point, for that matter). I don't think there is. Airbnb could sign a blank check, and it wouldn't surprise me if she still continued to talk to the media. She has shown after they asked her to take down her first post that she is unwilling to work a deal out quietly, whatever happens, she wants it to be done very publicly. Who knows what will make her happy, not even she knows from her comments in the interview. Point being: Airbnb has settled these cases before and customers have walked away happy because of it.
  - xentronium 15y ago
    It doesn't look like AirBnB tried to settle this case in any meaningful way. Chesky's posts on HN and in other sources are full of weasel bs like "we're doing everything possible", "we're working on it". If, instead, they'd put out a bullet point list of what they've done to mitigate the disaster, public would have been tamed and considered the incident over. Internet hate machine started working against airbnb, they should better begin doing something meaningful before they might very well become a non-company.
philwelch 15y ago
It may or may not be a fundamental problem with Airbnb that the situation happened in the first place, but their response to it has frankly revealed deeply fundamental problems in the moral character of the company. As a long time admirer of Airbnb it's hard for me to admit this, but it's true. It's not a matter of good PR or bad PR, it's a matter of simple moral decency.

rednaught 15y ago

I've often wondered this this isn't part of the "foundations" portion that is mentioned in the description of the YCombinator program. Not only a PR firm as you mentioned but a couple of training sessions in PR AND ethics before launch even happens. A core set of skills and knowledge is more than merely a founder and a great idea these days. I count at least three YCombinator startups that have stumbled severely with PR not once but multiple times: Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB.

skmurphy 15y ago
Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB have made poor business decisions. It's a PR problem when you explain a good decision poorly.
- bgentry 15y ago
  Good point! Dropbox has had the same kind of problem dealing with unfavorable coverage.
adharmad 15y ago
And Loopt recently, although they handled it pretty well.

joe_the_user 15y ago

Hmm, In my understanding of it, in outline this was handled the way conventional PR firms have handled corporate problems - fix it in private and ignore it/deny it in public. Especially, offering aid contingent on silence (which MJ's kind of indicates was done). It seems like "The Ole' PR stonewall" just isn't a good model for startups. Instead, a better model is do the right thing, from the start, publicly and privately (obviously, you need to articulate clearly what you're doing so you still corporate communications). Google, at its best, has benefited from this approach.

andrewljohnson 15y ago
That's just the stereotype. I worked for a small PR firm, on a portfolio of small tech companies, where I felt proud of how we operated. The good firms realize that the most effective way to combat crisis like these is to over-deliver on your obligations to anyone hurt, and to lead the charge in providing information to the public. I've never worked PR for tobacco or big oil companies, but I imagine that's where the stereotype comes from. It's pretty easy to do good, ethical PR for a bunch of nerds programming computers.
- iamdave 15y ago
  Under-promise, over-deliver is our mantra in my team. You nailed it.
kragen 15y ago
The ol' PR stonewall has never been a good model for any company that's pissed off a journalist. Nowadays, it seems like it's maybe not a good model if you've pissed off anybody who can write clearly and coherently, regardless of whether or not they're employed as a journalist, because a well-written and gripping blog post like EJ's can draw a lot of attention, even without journalist assistance. Although, as we saw, it can take a while. A month in this case. From http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto: The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media. Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.... As a result, markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organized. Participation in a networked market changes people fundamentally. People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to commoditized products. There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.... Companies that don't realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity. Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.... Public Relations does not relate to the public. Companies are deeply afraid of their markets.... Don't worry, you can still make money. That is, as long as it's not the only thing on your mind.... We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting. When the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto wrote the above theses in 1999, they sounded radical, utopian, even unrealistic. Now they are, or should be, common sense. Airbnb exists in large part because of the truth of these theses. So why are they reverting to 1950s-style corporate blackmail when faced with this crisis?

Lewisham 15y ago

I wouldn't be surprised if EJ doesn't have a PR person nudging her along. Her statements about being "violated" and "unsafe" means she sounds like she wants AirBnB to do the impossible and repair her, not her belongings. She sounds like she's inconsolable and nothing can be done to make it right, but boy, does blabbing about how upset she is in every possible media outlet make it feel a little better! I think she's looking for more than just replacement, but a sizable settlement. I won't be surprised if we see legal papers in the next week.

andrewljohnson 15y ago
At this point, it did occur to me that she is angling for a much bigger settlement than just her furnishings. And if so, I imagine it's not a PR firm coaching her, but rather a lawyer.
- joelhooks 15y ago
  I've done a lot of work with plaintiff's attorneys and one thing I've never seen is them encouraging people to publicly express their whoa. You don't want the other side to know what you are going to drop.
  - palish 15y ago
    Their... woe?
    - joelhooks 15y ago
      ya, channeling Joey Lawrence. Thanks for the rapid grammar feedback.
mayank 15y ago
That's very cynical -- can't she just be articulate and feeling violated?
- jsavimbi 15y ago

jonknee 15y ago

Why is it up to YC? They only have a small chunk of Airbnb, there are many other larger shareholders. The most motivated investors to have a smooth fix here would be the ones that just sank in over $100M at a sky-high $1.3B valuation.

iamdave 15y ago
If it can be twisted (and someone will twist it) to sound as if YC were funding startups that result in considerate consumer risk, things could escalate rapidly to a place I can imagine they don't want it going.
- tptacek 15y ago
  That's nice. But all the Internet message board sentiment in the world doesn't change the fact that YC doesn't represent Airbnb. Even if YC wanted to help with Airbnb's crisis management, they are a tiny minority investor in the company. Unless Paul Graham is secretly on their board, they probably can't do anything at all about this.
andrewljohnson 15y ago
It's just an economies of scale thing. YC has hundreds of start-ups, and a few will have issues at any given time. I don't think it's up to YC because they are obligated to, just because I think it would be worthwhile.
- wheels 15y ago
  Even if YC did have such a thing, consider that Airbnb has raised like 20x more than YC has invested into their entire portfolio since 2005. Airbnb is worth more than YC. It's not that YC doesn't give tips on how to do some of your initial PR, but once you're at the level that Airbnb is at you're not going to be relying on YC freebies.
wheels 15y ago
Yeah, the implied YC association in all of this is a bit bizarre. AirBnB raised about 0.01% of their financing from YC. They've got a strong board comprised of some very experienced, good VCs. Saying that YC should handle this would be like suggesting that Bill Gate's Harvard fraternity should clean up Microsoft's faux pas. (That's a bit hyperbolic, but I think you see what I'm getting at.) Interestingly, perhaps, I see YC's connection to this story as more that it runs the site that broke the story: this one. I suspect pg getting involved is more because he personally likes the AirBnB founders rather than that he sees it as the responsibility of YC.

sunchild 15y ago

I don't really think you need an expert to anticipate this exact sort of problem with AirBnB. It's precisely the reason that I and many others never use the service – it's wildly obvious that this risk existed from the start. Handling this eventuality should have been planned and scripted from day one.

jmtame 15y ago
Airbnb has settled these cases before, as another commenter noted here. I have been completely sympathetic to EJ all along, but as I read more of her interview comments, I'm starting to wonder if there's even anything Airbnb could do to help at this point (or any point, for that matter). I don't think there is. Airbnb could sign a blank check, and it wouldn't surprise me if she still continued to talk to the media. She has shown after they asked her to take down her first post that she is unwilling to work a deal out quietly, whatever happens, she wants it to be done very publicly. Who knows what will make her happy, not even she knows from her comments in the interview. Point being: Airbnb has settled these cases before and customers have walked away happy because of it.
- xentronium 15y ago
  It doesn't look like AirBnB tried to settle this case in any meaningful way. Chesky's posts on HN and in other sources are full of weasel bs like "we're doing everything possible", "we're working on it". If, instead, they'd put out a bullet point list of what they've done to mitigate the disaster, public would have been tamed and considered the incident over. Internet hate machine started working against airbnb, they should better begin doing something meaningful before they might very well become a non-company.

philwelch 15y ago

It may or may not be a fundamental problem with Airbnb that the situation happened in the first place, but their response to it has frankly revealed deeply fundamental problems in the moral character of the company. As a long time admirer of Airbnb it's hard for me to admit this, but it's true. It's not a matter of good PR or bad PR, it's a matter of simple moral decency.