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Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

nytimes.com

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Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#161

Post by bkor »

drewbt wrote: post #145

It’s about time. Earlier this year I moved to Cape Town, with an Airbnb booked for the first month. I was the first guest, and the place did not meet even the most basic standards of hygiene. What’s worse is that there was still evidence of the place being used as a crack house. Needless to say, I refused to stay there and Airbnb gave a full refund. All of this could have been avoided by a simple verification system.…

> Needless to say, I refused to stay there and Airbnb gave a full refund.

I don't think that's good enough. You were relying on that accommodation. Now the worst for AirBNB is that they won't make money. So there's no incentive to do anything about it. Further, if you suddenly need to switch accommodations the last minute price will be much higher than usual.

AirBNB should fix the accommodation problem they caused. They must/should offer an alternative.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#162

Post by londons_explore »

thrwn_frthr_awy wrote: post #82
ogre_codes wrote: post #12

From the comment in the article it sounds like they are trying to offload the cost/ effort of verifying listings to their customers as well: " But he said the process would involve asking users whether the information in certain listings turned out to be accurate " So when he says AirBNB is going to verify every listing, he doesn't actually mean they are paying people to do it...

FWIW, a few months ago they sent someone to my listing in person. They offered me $500 to make the changes they suggested.

Explain...

AirBnB offered you money to change the text of your AirBnB listing? Why would they do that?

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#163

Post by [deleted] »

verisimilitudes wrote: post #87
djohnston wrote: post #26

More generally, I think we're living in the moment where all successful startups acknowledge the fact that growth means more people, and more people means higher likelihoods of terrible behavior, since humans are on average a terrible organism, at least in relation to the values we espouse.

since humans are on average a terrible organism, at least in relation to the values we espouse. Surely you recognize the irony in stating this here, considering the pieces of shit who create these startups are responsible for making the world worse at a large scale, purely for their own gain, right? It's obscene to me how you've written this. These startups ignore major laws, break numerous consumer protection laws a…

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#167

Post by say_it_as_it_is »

toss1 wrote: post #94

AirBnB's existing guest verification process loks onerous, but is trivial to work-around. For some reservations, they demand to have your Driver's License image, both sides (to include he various barcodes, etc.) and some other items. For a friend who did not want the risk of having their full set of data floating around out there, I used some readily available & free tools to make some (self-consistent) edits to the…

Know the risks.

This is known as fraud and it is considered a crime in most developed regions in the world. It is an intentional false representation of fact intended to mislead. Deception in the case of short term accomodations (AirBnB, VRBO) can lead to legal injury. You are at risk of having a criminal record.

While this may seem fine because you're not intending to do anything malicious, situations outside of your control may arise during your stay and your fraud will be revealed. If nothing happens during your stay, you will likely get away with this kind of fraud. The problem is that you're risking having a criminal record just to avoid a third party having temporary possession of your drivers license. Guests at a hotel or motel always share their drivers license at the front desk. When you rent a car, a drivers license is required. The difference between these in-person experiences and one entirely digital is a false sense of anonymity online.

This aside, drivers license identification is never saved to a database, file or anywhere if it is done correctly. Read the terms and conditions to see for yourself. The hotels, however, save that information in a database and may not remove it. In other words, online verification is more secure than in person.

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#168

Post by say_it_as_it_is »

ajxs wrote: post #113
toss1 wrote: post #94

AirBnB's existing guest verification process loks onerous, but is trivial to work-around. For some reservations, they demand to have your Driver's License image, both sides (to include he various barcodes, etc.) and some other items. For a friend who did not want the risk of having their full set of data floating around out there, I used some readily available & free tools to make some (self-consistent) edits to the…

I really wish I'd have thought of doing this. I'm really uncomfortable sharing this kind of information. I understand and support what they're trying to accomplish by doing this, but I've learned better than to trust the security and privacy of such data. Thanks for pointing this out!

read my response to this comment before you do

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#169

Post by smt88 »

malkuth23 wrote: post #54
smt88 wrote: post #29

No amount of "verification" can get me to stay in an Airbnb. There's no way for them to prevent homeowners from installing (legal) hidden cameras, and when cameras are discovered, they defer responsibility (to preserve their brand image). A hotel, by contrast, can't legally have hidden cameras and takes the full brunt of the bad PR if one is discovered.

It is definitely not legal to setup hidden cameras anywhere that would be private inside your Airbnb. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/s1301/text Also, Airbnb asks you if there are any cameras in any place on your property and it is a violation to have cameras even on your front porch without acknowledging them. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it is definitely not legal. It also happens in hotels on o…

It's legal. Airbnb didn't (doesn't?) forbid it![1] They aren't even courageous enough to do that much.

> has the intent to capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent

This law is basically forbidding voyeur porn.

A host could install a "security" camera in a living room. For a studio apartment, that would also be a bedroom. That's completely legal. Perhaps the camera is installed, but it's "not turned on". All legal.

But once the landlord steps across the line by turning the camera on, publishing videos, etc., the law is broken, but it's already too late.

1. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/airbnb-you-might-be-ca...

Re: Airbnb Plans to Verify Every Listing

#170

Post by Plyphon_ »

frostmatthew wrote: post #95
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a bedroom in my house that I make available through Airbnb. I live in the house so this isn't an investment-for-Airbnb scenario. I'm totally down for these audits, but expect the auditor to pay the fee like anyone else if he/she stays, or if he/she consumes the timeslot that I could have sold to someone else.

Yes they would pay, you wouldn't even know the person(s) were conducting an audit. All major hotel chains already do exactly this, typically at least once a year and the property has no idea until weeks later when they get the (very detailed) report.

It's called 'Mystery Shopper' in retail.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_shopping

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