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I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

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Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#581

Post by SilasX »

swozey wrote: post #260
CPLX wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to be an active Airbnb host for a vacation house I own. For reference it was a 4 bedroom Victorian. I had to pay $150 to clean the house each time I had a booking, that's what it cost me. I passed it along to guests at exactly that cost. Not sure if it was "worth it" for some guests, or people staying only one night. But that's what I had to pay, it wasn't part of any nefarious strategy. In developed countries…

I'm clearly not a single guy renting 4 bedroom victorian homes. I'm more talking about the people who charge you $80-150/night to clean a 1 bedroom studio, especially if it's a guesthouse in their back yard and I'm asked to do half of the work (put dishes in dishwasher, take out trash, take sheets off bed, etc) and still charged more than I know it costs to clean. Also the fact that it doesn't show up on the map when…

Wait, they have daily cleaning fees?

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#582

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

qazpot wrote: post #466
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't make a business of an honest marketplace based on selling services only to dishonest people. Eventually your own customers will ruin the business. This is the fundamental reason "Organized Crime" always fails in the end.

I don't think it is true that Organized Crime fails in the end. OC organizations like Cosa Nostra , Yakuza, Triads and many others are not disappearing any time soon.

Look closer at what you are calling "organizations". I would just call that an Industry. The individuals and businesses (Families) fail at a rapid rate. Just because they are replaced by other businesses in the same industry, doesn't mean that criminal organizations are successful in terms of longevity.

There are some notable exceptions in the Yakuza, but I would argue even those fit the pattern because the most successful Yakuza are working in grey areas and aren't fully engaging in illegal actives.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#583

Post by nkrisc »

JamesBarney wrote: post #575
nkrisc wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably best to not use a service that fraudulently charges your credit card anyway.

Just the same it can be annoying to never have access to something like airbnb or uber.

Pick your poison. Both have plenty of alternatives. Vacation housing and transportation services have existed long before the internet came along.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#584

Post by blueadept111 »

necovek wrote: post #555
blueadept111 wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither review is visible until both are done, so that's nonsense.

Uhm, that sounds even worse: so your bad review won't show up until a host responds, so they can simply decide not to, and your bad review never shows up.

No, because there's a fixed time limit to submit a review, afterwhich the review is posted irregardless. Hey, I guess airbnb put more than 10 seconds of thought into the design of the process, what do you know.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#585

Post by blueadept111 »

RaiseProfits wrote: post #562
blueadept111 wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither review is visible until both are done, so that's nonsense.

You act like people’s real names and contact information are not exchanged. AirBnb has no quality enforcement mechanism to protect your privacy, the quality of your stay, or the resulting fallout from a conflict.

The mechanism for preventing most bad stays is called the reputation system, which is based on reviews. As for exchanging real names, do you think the system would be improved if all participants were completely anonymous? There's a reason a hotel knows your real name and contact information as well. You sound like a troll.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#586

Post by ryanmarsh »

I travel nearly every week for business. For almost two years I stayed exclusively in Airbnbs. I was giving Airbnb as much business as one person can.

I had several truly terrible (even scammy) experiences in those two years and not only did Airbnb not refund me a dime but each time I contacted support I was not recognized as a frequent traveler who is used to the system and has great feedback from hosts, each time I was treated like I was some asshole trying to scam them.

Airbnb has a major major quality problem (not to mention the customer service). The platform has turned into a joke. Try this on for size, say "this Airbnb looks great in the pictures" to anyone with experience using the platform and watch their non-verbal response. We know. I wonder how long Airbnb can keep this up.

Lastly, the Airbnb Plus program is no better. I stayed in a Plus a few weeks ago in Milan and it was a dump that looked nothing like the pictures, even with different furniture. That was my second Plus disaster in a year.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#587

Post by dplgk »

knodi123 wrote: post #247

Wow, I think I got hit by this same scam in Auckland, NZ. Saw pictures of a perfectly fine little apartment. Showed up and it was actually a furniture storage unit- the living room had two couches, three desks, and two commercial scanner/copiers. The bed had 12 full-sized pillows and one sheet, and the sheet was so starched that I pinched the middle and lifted it to head height, and it just stayed there. You could sc…

I wonder what would happen if you trashed the place? What would the host do? Send photos of the trashed place that looks nothing like the listing?

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#588

Post by dplgk »

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…

It's why they want to establish an monopoly and dominate their sector. Cable companies are universally hated and they're doing fine.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#589

Post by vkou »

Ayesh wrote: post #559
Fomite wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often have a cancelable hotel reservation on hand.

Speaking from a hotel owner perspective, this is hurting the business for them. Hotels are expensive to run, and with the booking sites pushing for cancelable bookings, hotels have to make them cancelable as well. When you cancel a room at 5:55PM, the room stays empty pretty much 100% of the time.

Sure, but in the off-season, if you didn't book that room to begin with, most of the time, that room would still be empty.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#590

Post by rgharris »

buckminster wrote: post #135

With nearly one hundred rentals this scammer must have been making some serious money. That's fraud on a grand scale in multiple states. Isn't that what the FBI is for? The journalist should make a report.

It looks like the FBI has contacted Vice about the article.

> Update 11/1/19: The morning after this article was published, the FBI contacted VICE about the claims made above.

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