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Comedian Furious After Airbnb Rents His Apartment To "XXX Freak Fest" Orgy

29 points by yahelc 13y ago

mysteriousllama 13y ago
It's really horrible that happened to this guy. It's not really AirBNB's fault but I am happy to hear they are helping him out regardless. Letting someone into your home should be a rather big deal. Just because some website vouches for a person doesn't mean you shouldn't do some checking up of your own. It's sort of like Craigslist. Beware and assess the risks carefully!
kilroy123 13y ago
This should have NSFW in the title.
- hnriot 13y ago
  the "XXX Freak Fest Orgy" didn't clue you in??
  - kilroy123 13y ago
    Didn't think there would be pics of anything sexual.
    - CocaKoala 13y ago
      the "XXX Freak Fest Orgy" didn't clue you in??
bdcravens 13y ago
Already discussed a couple of days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 This article does however get into the followup between "victim" and AirBnB.
howeyc 13y ago
Person rents out apartment to an individual who ended up lying to him. Is furious at AirBNB service for some reason. Does this logic work with other middleman services as well? Some examples: * Buy high priced item from (high ranked, but does it really matter?) individual on Ebay, turns out to be fake. Complain that this is Ebay's fault. * Make some kind of deal on Craigslist. Deal falls through. Claim all the fault of Craigslist.
- timr 13y ago
  It's pretty remarkable how the tone here has changed in three years' time. The first ransack-gate led to all sorts of calls for AirBnB to compensate the victim [1]. This time around, people seem to be blaming the guy who rented out the apartment [2]. Aside from the shift in time and the "orgy" angle, the situations are identical. Either HN has dramatically changed, or the collective attitude toward this kind of thing has shifted to a decidedly anti-host (or pro-company?) sentiment. Interesting. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 [2] More commentary here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796
  - true_religion 13y ago
    I'd say its neither. People react to a story based on the total context, not entirely on the facts. In the previous story, (if I remember correctly), it was presented as an ordinary individual who had their place ransacked and now was afraid to live there. There was an outpouring of support due to the individual being so sympathetic and the case being delivered in such a desperate tone. In this case the guy comes of (true or not) as entitled and antagonistic. ---- That said, a careful reading of the situations shows its not factually indentical. The previous case was a home-owner. AirBnB now protects people who own the property from damage caused when leasing. This case is a renter, who was essentially running a hotel room out of his apartment--an act against his lease, and perhaps even illegal in his area.
    - timr 13y ago
      You're "remembering" facts to justify your bias. Here's the original blog post from ransackgate: http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travelers-lost-faith-difficult.html http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travele... She never said anything about being an owner. As far as I can tell, she was a renter. Certainly, nobody knew if she rented or bought at the time the post hit HN. Basically, what you're saying is that you don't like the guy's tone, so you think he doesn't deserve sympathy. Glad you don't work for AirBnB customer support.
danso 13y ago
So what's the deal here...is Airbnb going to keep forking over money for everyone who violates the terms of service, not to mention the state law? Is this covered by Airbnb's insurer, or is Airbnb paying this out of pocket because it turned into a social media blowup and it's worth eating the loss? There's just something about this comedian's indignant attitude that is a real turn off...the way he carefully worded his original post to make it sound like the orgy actually took place, omitting the details that made it clear he prevented the party. And his laughable claim of "this is a family building"...yes, I'm sure the families really appreciate you renting out your apartment to total strangers with no vetting. I wouldn't be surprised if some of this was a setup to provide material for his next comic routine.
- mpyne 13y ago
  > There's just something about this comedian's indignant attitude that is a real turn off...the way he carefully worded his original post to make it sound like the orgy actually took place, omitting the details that made it clear he prevented the party. Where was it mentioned he'd prevented the party? It sounded instead like he showed up right in the middle of it.
  - danso 13y ago
    Gawker really should get he reporting credit for this, as they actually verified the details and Gothamist does a sloppy job of ripping off their work http://gawker.com/man-unwittingly-rents-out-apartment-on-airbnb-for-xxx-1544961941?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow http://gawker.com/man-unwittingly-rents-out-apartment-on-air... According to Teman, he handed the keys over to David late Friday afternoon. Then, he left his suitcase with his doorman and went to dinner before planning to head out of New York. When Teman returned to his building to retrieve his bag, he saw David in the lobby and overheard him telling others that "they're shutting us down." Teman asked what was being "shut down," which he said brought a look of mortified recognition over David's face. Concerned and suspicious, Teman went back upstairs to his apartment, where he attempted to figure out what was going on. He opened his computer and Googled the Gmail address and phone number David had provided him during their correspondence on Airbnb. The search of the phone number brought up this tweet from February that advertised a "BBW Panty Raid Party" in New York. ... Really, this is (yet another) story about the power of social media in our everyday lives, just with a twist of BBW orgy. Had Teman Googled David's phone number before handing over the keys, he probably would have cancelled the agreement and saved everyone the trouble. If David's number wasn't plastered across Twitter, he and whomever wanted to pay $20 to enter his party could have fucked all over Teman's apartment in peace. Instead, Teman ended up stuck in New York and displaced from his apartment. David did not get to throw his Freak Fest. They both have spent the past 48 hours entangled with lawyers and policemen. What a weekend it could have been.
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maerF0x0 13y ago
I find this hilarious. But only because it wasnt my place. I checked the URL twice to see if it was the onion. The comedian should have joined in.
Houshalter 13y ago
The comments on that article are terrible. People really hate the guy.

29 points by yahelc 13y ago

It's really horrible that happened to this guy. It's not really AirBNB's fault but I am happy to hear they are helping him out regardless. Letting someone into your home should be a rather big deal. Just because some website vouches for a person doesn't mean you shouldn't do some checking up of your own. It's sort of like Craigslist. Beware and assess the risks carefully!

kilroy123 13y ago

This should have NSFW in the title.

hnriot 13y ago
the "XXX Freak Fest Orgy" didn't clue you in??
- kilroy123 13y ago
  Didn't think there would be pics of anything sexual.
  - CocaKoala 13y ago
    the "XXX Freak Fest Orgy" didn't clue you in??

bdcravens 13y ago

Already discussed a couple of days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 This article does however get into the followup between "victim" and AirBnB.

howeyc 13y ago

Person rents out apartment to an individual who ended up lying to him. Is furious at AirBNB service for some reason. Does this logic work with other middleman services as well? Some examples: * Buy high priced item from (high ranked, but does it really matter?) individual on Ebay, turns out to be fake. Complain that this is Ebay's fault. * Make some kind of deal on Craigslist. Deal falls through. Claim all the fault of Craigslist.

timr 13y ago
It's pretty remarkable how the tone here has changed in three years' time. The first ransack-gate led to all sorts of calls for AirBnB to compensate the victim [1]. This time around, people seem to be blaming the guy who rented out the apartment [2]. Aside from the shift in time and the "orgy" angle, the situations are identical. Either HN has dramatically changed, or the collective attitude toward this kind of thing has shifted to a decidedly anti-host (or pro-company?) sentiment. Interesting. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 [2] More commentary here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796
- true_religion 13y ago
  I'd say its neither. People react to a story based on the total context, not entirely on the facts. In the previous story, (if I remember correctly), it was presented as an ordinary individual who had their place ransacked and now was afraid to live there. There was an outpouring of support due to the individual being so sympathetic and the case being delivered in such a desperate tone. In this case the guy comes of (true or not) as entitled and antagonistic. ---- That said, a careful reading of the situations shows its not factually indentical. The previous case was a home-owner. AirBnB now protects people who own the property from damage caused when leasing. This case is a renter, who was essentially running a hotel room out of his apartment--an act against his lease, and perhaps even illegal in his area.
  - timr 13y ago
    You're "remembering" facts to justify your bias. Here's the original blog post from ransackgate: http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travelers-lost-faith-difficult.html http://ejroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2011/06/violated-travele... She never said anything about being an owner. As far as I can tell, she was a renter. Certainly, nobody knew if she rented or bought at the time the post hit HN. Basically, what you're saying is that you don't like the guy's tone, so you think he doesn't deserve sympathy. Glad you don't work for AirBnB customer support.

danso 13y ago

So what's the deal here...is Airbnb going to keep forking over money for everyone who violates the terms of service, not to mention the state law? Is this covered by Airbnb's insurer, or is Airbnb paying this out of pocket because it turned into a social media blowup and it's worth eating the loss? There's just something about this comedian's indignant attitude that is a real turn off...the way he carefully worded his original post to make it sound like the orgy actually took place, omitting the details that made it clear he prevented the party. And his laughable claim of "this is a family building"...yes, I'm sure the families really appreciate you renting out your apartment to total strangers with no vetting. I wouldn't be surprised if some of this was a setup to provide material for his next comic routine.

mpyne 13y ago
> There's just something about this comedian's indignant attitude that is a real turn off...the way he carefully worded his original post to make it sound like the orgy actually took place, omitting the details that made it clear he prevented the party. Where was it mentioned he'd prevented the party? It sounded instead like he showed up right in the middle of it.
- danso 13y ago
  Gawker really should get he reporting credit for this, as they actually verified the details and Gothamist does a sloppy job of ripping off their work http://gawker.com/man-unwittingly-rents-out-apartment-on-airbnb-for-xxx-1544961941?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow http://gawker.com/man-unwittingly-rents-out-apartment-on-air... According to Teman, he handed the keys over to David late Friday afternoon. Then, he left his suitcase with his doorman and went to dinner before planning to head out of New York. When Teman returned to his building to retrieve his bag, he saw David in the lobby and overheard him telling others that "they're shutting us down." Teman asked what was being "shut down," which he said brought a look of mortified recognition over David's face. Concerned and suspicious, Teman went back upstairs to his apartment, where he attempted to figure out what was going on. He opened his computer and Googled the Gmail address and phone number David had provided him during their correspondence on Airbnb. The search of the phone number brought up this tweet from February that advertised a "BBW Panty Raid Party" in New York. ... Really, this is (yet another) story about the power of social media in our everyday lives, just with a twist of BBW orgy. Had Teman Googled David's phone number before handing over the keys, he probably would have cancelled the agreement and saved everyone the trouble. If David's number wasn't plastered across Twitter, he and whomever wanted to pay $20 to enter his party could have fucked all over Teman's apartment in peace. Instead, Teman ended up stuck in New York and displaced from his apartment. David did not get to throw his Freak Fest. They both have spent the past 48 hours entangled with lawyers and policemen. What a weekend it could have been.

deleted 13y ago

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maerF0x0 13y ago

I find this hilarious. But only because it wasnt my place. I checked the URL twice to see if it was the onion. The comedian should have joined in.

Houshalter 13y ago

The comments on that article are terrible. People really hate the guy.