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Airbnb and security camera disclosure

jeffreybigham.com

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Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#151

Post by trophycase »

umvi wrote: post #57
morpheuskafka wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's funny to me, because AirBnB runs in to all the same problems we had with hotels a hundred years ago. We have dozens of taxes, rules, regulations, building codes etc now for hotels. I imagine at some point it will be the same for AirBnBs. What's old is new. An industry can only be disruptive for so long. Eventually, it will either fail, or be successful and become the new status quo.

> Eventually, it will either fail, or be successful and become the new status quo. The book "Animal Farm" is so prescient, it's scary. I know it was written about governments but it applies to a lot of different organizations and industries: "The creatures outside looked from to , and from to , and from to again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." Just swap out and with: Uber/taxis online streamin…

More like: when immoral profiteers figure out how to best game the new system, the quality becomes more or less the same

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#152

Post by draw_down »

philip1209 wrote: post #120

I've lived in Airbnbs full-time for about 18 months while traveling, and Airbnb has lost my trust repeatedly in terms of reliability, safety, and user-friendliness. - Host listing quality has gone consistently downhill. Now, it's many slumlords just trying to make a quick buck rather than support the original community idea or provide a great stay. - Airbnb support response times are horribly slow. They hide their ph…

Yeah, it started as a great alternative to hotels, both on price and the sort of hospitality offered. I think the comparison is now much closer, Airbnb has lost a lot of that edge.

At the same price point I would take a hotel, they have employees whose job is to help you and instead of the "hey we're sharing a space and growing together and learning about each other" horseshit Airbnb is trying to peddle.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#153

Post by kawsper »

This is becoming a bigger problem lately, it is now part of my routine to de-bug Airbnbs, first by unplugging all visible cameras, then by scanning the network for other equipment, but maybe we also need to shut off the lights and look for IR noise to find hidden non-network cameras.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#154

Post by mnm1 »

hangonhn wrote: post #146
philip1209 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. They take a huge cut, hold cash for months ahead of time (earning considerable float), preach the need to use their in-app messaging and platform for "safety", then just abandon ship when things go wrong. If I showed up to a hotel and they didn't have a room available, they would rebook me at a different hotel. Airbnb just seems to say, "well, that's not our problem". It makes me wish that there was a tenant…

"If I showed up to a hotel and they didn't have a room available, they would rebook me at a different hotel. " Don't be so sure about that. I had a Marriott reservation but apparently they overbooked a whole bunch of us and tried to rebook us at Motel 8 without refunding any of our money. Luckily I had booked through Priceline.com and called their support and they rebooked us at the nearest hotel that's comparable to…

Marriott is shit. Stayed three weeks in Cancun at a four and five start Marriott. No air conditioning. In the middle of the fucking summer. The lowest it'd go was 73. The first week, they were doing construction so there was a jackhammer literally outside our door every morning until we complained enough for them to move us to one of many empty rooms. Unfortunately, it was already booked so I couldn't get a refund or chargeback despite proof of all this. Marriott is just utter garbage and should be avoided at all costs.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#155

Post by dev_dull »

Regardless of the AirB&B fine print, I think this would likely run afoul to local and state laws against unauthorized wiretapping. I would be interested in seeing it play out in court, because that's a pretty serious crime in some states. I doubt the owner of this unit is fully aware of their liability.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#156

Post by trophycase »

llampx wrote: post #112
Karunamon wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's funny to me, because AirBnB runs in to all the same problems we had with hotels a hundred years ago. To a point. I find it a bit silly to regulate a single person renting out their house occasionally for short stretches (read: most users of AirBnB) to a corporation with multiple purpose built, million dollar facilities on expensive commercial property with their own staff and so forth.

I've been looking at AirBNBs recently for a vacation. The small guy is an outlier anymore. Most of the listings are obviously professional, ie they do it for a living and have multiple properties and property managers. The network is hard to unravel since the companies behind the "hosts" create many profiles, but it is easy to see that its not just Carla or Emily or Cody offering up their apartment while they go on h…

The last few AirBnBs I've stayed at have all been filled with "stock" goods. The cheapest handsoap, the cheapest paper towels, etc. Basically it looks like they went to the dollar store and filled their house with what's in it, which makes me believe that people don't actually live in there.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#157

Post by bsamuels »

teachrdan wrote: post #126
philip1209 wrote: post #120

I've lived in Airbnbs full-time for about 18 months while traveling, and Airbnb has lost my trust repeatedly in terms of reliability, safety, and user-friendliness. - Host listing quality has gone consistently downhill. Now, it's many slumlords just trying to make a quick buck rather than support the original community idea or provide a great stay. - Airbnb support response times are horribly slow. They hide their ph…

I've had nearly identical experiences, the worst being an apartment infested with bedbugs. Despite having video proof [0] of our mattress literally crawling with bedbugs, Airbnb support took the landlord's side and bounced us between case managers until it was finally resolved almost 24 hours later. At least at a hotel they have to acknowledge and fix the issue on the spot. 0. https://youtu.be/RJHScbdp15s

had the same issue with bedbugs. was staying at a place for 3 months and they refused to relocate me.

they stopped paying the host so he was up in my shit about not being paid, (he said he couldnt afford to get the place treated) and I was already out of all my money paid out to airbnb. it was a very awkward situation

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#158

Post by wlesieutre »

DoubleGlazing wrote: post #149
wlesieutre wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should have called the fire marshal. Airbnb support is probably one step up from Google's in terms of reaching a satisfactory solution for customers. The fire marshal won't get you your money back, but they'll ruin a host's day if they're renting out a space without smoke detectors.

Oh we did, and the owner of the building ended up in the press for a multitude of reasons a few weeks after we had our stay.

Glad to hear it, you may have saved someone from having a pretty bad time with that.

Basically every line of fire codes were written in response to people burning to death, so I have very little tolerance for landlords messing around.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#159

Post by amerkhalid »

I never understood appeal of AirBnB. We used to travel a lot and thought AirBnB would be cheaper to equivalent hotels but it usually is about same or more expensive but with less amenities.

For example:

* There is no room service. You can order delivery but room service has certain charms especially at 2AM.

* In hotels, you come back to a clean room at the day's end.

* There is cleaning fee for many AirBnB. With hotels, you just leave a tip but no need to leave the place in perfect condition to avoid cleaning fee.

* If you have any issues with your room, hotel will relocate you to new room quickly.

* Concierge services, shuttle services, pools, etc are really nice to haves even if we don't use them.

* You are with other travellers in hotel. Very easy to meet new people and share some experience or tips.

Some of my friends get AirBnB in suburbs to save money but then they are renting cars or taking Uber everywhere which probably adds up to same price. Also when traveling I don't want to feel like I am back in 'burbs.

Then, of course, we have privacy issues.

Re: Airbnb and security camera disclosure

#160

Post by koverda »

elif wrote: post #115
patagonia wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luckily, we could prove to Airbnb that the furniture was not original, and that it was modified multiple times, badly. After the whole vacation spent worrying about the communication between the host and the Airbnb, we managed to avoid having to pay. A similar experience is what put me off to AirBnb. What was supposed to be a carefree weekend at the beach turned into managing the property manager. One thing after ano…

I was in Spain and got an airbnb which did not have sheets for the beds or towels. The host, who was in another country on holiday, had me walk down the street and meet her mother, who didn't speak english. Her mother gave me a musty top-sheet that seemed to have been in a closet for over a decade, and asked me to pay her 5 euros in cash for it. This whole process took about 2 hours. Still didn't get a towel.. should…

Could you link to this Miami AirBnB? Sounds interesting.
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