I'm also wary for those reasons, but I believe AirBnB at least is making some efforts to do something about it (granted, after some bad PR [1] spurred action).

I'm also wary for those reasons, but I believe AirBnB at least is making some efforts to do something about it (granted, after some bad PR [1] spurred action). They initially offered a $50k-per-host indemnity [2], and have since upped it to a $1m-per-host indemnity [3]. Assuming they'll reliably stand behind it (rather than get out of it via fine print, e.g. in cases of illegal sublets, which are common on their marketplace), that seems like a responsible approach to managing some of the risks their business opens up. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 [2] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/airbnb-insurance-guarantee.html http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/airbnb-in... [3] https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee