I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb • Hacker News Board

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#201

Post by astura » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:00 PM UTC

weberc2 wrote: post #176

gesman wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> The main downside for me concerning AirBnb is it takes a long time to analyze the listings to find quality accommodations. In my view this is major. To describe it better - need to read "between the lines" of misleading representations of properties. Lots of property owners goes to great extends to make property look way better, bigger, nicer than it really is and to conceal obvious negative points that become app…

> need to read "between the lines" of misleading representations of properties. I've never had a problem with this, but I also don't bother staying anywhere that doesn't have a 4-star or better average. If you just set your filter at >= 4 stars, then these problems go away, and we also comb through the reviews of our top picks to make sure there's nothing unexpected. Consequently, we've had nothing but good experienc…

TFA addresses why reviews are inflated and misleading:

>Airbnb uses a rating system in which both the host and tenant can publicly provide feedback to one another, which both parties then use to prove their credibility in the future. Because of that, there is a built-in incentive to avoid confrontation, which helps explain why Airbnb hosts consistently receive higher ratings than hotels reviewed on TripAdvisor, according to research out of Boston University and the University of Southern California. If a customer has a negative experience on Airbnb, they might be better off just moving on instead of leaving a negative review. Choose the latter option, and you could come across as too demanding by other prospective hosts, or, in extreme cases, even receive a retaliatory review.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#202

Post by Nextgrid » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:00 PM UTC

I wonder why nobody has ever attempted to dispute the transactions with their card issuer.

These scenarios seem like pretty solid grounds for chargebacks.

If they attract enough chargebacks Airbnb will not only take a hit to their wallet (and maybe reconsider their policies if it happens frequently enough) but also might get them in trouble with their acquirer bank (too many chargebacks and your merchant account gets terminated).

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#203

Post by maxerickson » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:01 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #185

greggman2 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stayed at 22 airbnb's 11 were fine. 11 had issues most with false advertising in some form or another. One listed the wrong location and if they had listed the correct location I would not have rented even though the room's interior matched. A few claimed to include onsite parking but didn't which of course is very inconvenient. The last one that did that claimed "Easy Street Parking" as AirBnb's blatant lie. I…

YC owns a tiny tiny piece of AirBnB. They definitely do not have any sort of power over the issues that you bring up.

They likely do have the power to disassociate themselves from Airbnb though.

(Like, I don't think that Y Combinator owes me anything or gives a shit about what I think or whatever, I just think "they are a minority owner" is weak sauce)

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#204

Post by thebokehwokeh2 » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:01 PM UTC

dannykwells wrote: post #175

I think what Airbnb, and uber, lyft, Amazon etc. All fail to understand is the longevity ans stickiness of brand. Once you become an untrustworthy or low quality brand, it's very hard to change that. You can still do fine (see: wal mart) but you'll always be looking over your shoulder for higher quality brands that poach the most lucrative customers, and eventually, thats what will lead to your downfall (see: wal mar…

Stickiness of brand also depends on the target audience. For brands who seek premium audiences, this is true, but for mass appeal lowest-cost persons, such as those who use all of the aforementioned listed, because of the lack of competition, brand is hardly a factor.

Given the complexity of building these services, and the lack of comparable competing options, you are left to begrudgingly accept what you're left with.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#205

Post by laGrenouille » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:01 PM UTC

dboreham wrote: post #163

swozey wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I've stayed at lot of airbnbs (20-30 a year) and only had good to great experiences. I've met a lot of hosts that I specifically look up when I visit their city again. I've had plenty where they weren't exactly what I expected, like thinking a cabin I was renting was in the woods from the pictures but it was on a gravel driveway with trees in the background, but my trip wasn't ruined or anything. I've unfortunat…

Having a fixed cleaning fee and a per-night charge actually reflects the property owner's costs. They have to pay someone to clean, do laundry, re-stock the crackers and cheap wine. Of course this can be taken too far, but I actually prefer this cost structure because I get a price break if I have a long stay vs an average flat fee per night. Source: I know several Airbnb owners, and the people who clean their proper…

I think the point is less about the existence of the cleaning fee and the fact that the site doesn't include the fee in the mapping UI. It makes it very difficult to compare properties when there are large fee differences that you cannot see until clicking through.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#206

Post by NelsonMinar » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:02 PM UTC

I don't understand why AirBnB doesn't take this kind of fraud more seriously. All they have is their brand reputation. This kind of fraud will destroy that.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#207

Post by zaroth » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

dfxm12 wrote: post #104

mattrp wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would second this experience. We travel with our five kids and its sometimes impossible to find a hotel that can accommodate us. That said, I did experience a switcheroo in Chicago similar to the article. However that’s where the similarities end. The place was in the same neighborhood, it was comparable to the listing but the only catch was we were told not say Airbnb to anyone in the building but to say guests of…

I would say the part I find most disturbing about what I see on Airbnb is ... the presence of cameras in every room. One place we stayed at had obvious cameras on the outside but then just as I’m about to go to sleep I look up at the ceiling and there’s another one in the chandelier above the bed. Yeah, it's policy that you have to disclose any cameras inside the room in the listing. It's not clear what happens when…

If I was not traveling internationally, I would absolutely file a police report. Pretty sure it’s a felony to record guests even in your house unannounced, and probably compounded if the area being filmed is one where you could reasonably be naked.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#208

Post by otterpro » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

I've had good experience both as a host and as a guest on airbnb, but these incidents are definitely serious enough to reconsider using Airbnb.

If Airbnb would implement a home-owner verification (which is possible in US since they're public record), most of these scams would be preventable. I mean, Airbnb is a billion dollar company, so couldn't they do this?

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#209

Post by GnarfGnarf » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:04 PM UTC

gesman wrote: post #106

dfxm12 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is this different from a hotel? From rentals in general? I guess you know what you're going to get if you're staying at a national chain that you've stayed at before, but there's not always one available or in your budget.

"What you pay is what you get" rule applies. Hotel chains are also experts in misrepresentations and omissions often fueled by fake positive reviews. During my recent stay in Manhattan at $350+/night hotel - the whole building was wrapped in construction fabrics and workers were walking right in front of my window all week. This of course haven't been mentioned during reservation. But at least you deal with host mana…

"What you pay is what you get" -- not quite. Tell that to the folks who bought Enron or Worldcom stock.

It is more accurate to say "You don't get what you don't pay for".

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#210

Post by pklem » Thu, Oct 31, 2019, 5:04 PM UTC

julienchastang wrote: post #51

There have been a few threads about AirBnb lately with a lot of people reporting negative experiences so I will add my own $0.02. I have stayed in many AirBnbs. The reason is, I find it is the only way to have a tolerable family vacation is when everyone has their own sleeping quarters. When we are all piled into one (often overpriced and not so clean) hotel room, it makes for less than ideal sleep and everyone ends…

The only bad experience I had was a decent looking apartment type room in a house (from the pictures), but it ended up being the moldy basement of the house, and the bedroom didn't have an egress window. It wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't good either.

However, you can't go wrong with superhosts. I've never had a bad experience with them.