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Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

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Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#191

Post by xwdv »

tootie wrote: post #189
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #184

> If hosts could be compelled to use digital keypads and change the code after each stay, a situation like that might be avoided in the future. As someone who's family has run a couple rental properties, I can not imagine trusting a high tragic rental that doesn't use a keypad entry. You would have to be negligent and perhaps criminally/grossly negligent to rent a vacation rental without changing the locks and/or cod…

Anyone using an apartment as an Airbnb (as so many in NYC do) won't have the authority to change the lock type on their door without approval from building management.

One way around this is to use a lock that can send a signal through the door to unlock it, without requiring an exterior keypad.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#192

Post by HeavenFox »

tootie wrote: post #189
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #184

> If hosts could be compelled to use digital keypads and change the code after each stay, a situation like that might be avoided in the future. As someone who's family has run a couple rental properties, I can not imagine trusting a high tragic rental that doesn't use a keypad entry. You would have to be negligent and perhaps criminally/grossly negligent to rent a vacation rental without changing the locks and/or cod…

Anyone using an apartment as an Airbnb (as so many in NYC do) won't have the authority to change the lock type on their door without approval from building management.

If you have a management company chances are they don’t allow you to Airbnb your apartment in the first place

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#193

Post by version_five »

asciimov wrote: post #182

After living next to a house that was on AirBnb for 3 years (rented at least 4 days a week), I want nothing more than the complete outlaw of the company and these types of rentals.

I lived next to an Air BNB for two years and never had a single issue (and I'm a fussy, generally antisocial, very light sleeper). I dont think either of our experiences really suggest anything, other than people need to be responsible for their property. If an owner is letting something happen that disturbs those around his property, he should be held accountable. No need to outlaw general concepts.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#194

Post by bawolff »

forgotmysn wrote: post #180
Havoc wrote: post #177

This is why I still largely prefer name brand hotels. Stuff can still go wrong but having a manager to speak to backed by the rep of a major brand that needs to protect its image helps. Airbnb you’d think would be the same but there have been countless of articles like this and all seems well in their rep land anyway And bizarrely pricing has largely converged anyway. Airbnb and name brand hotel often isn’t that far…

i would tend to agree, but depends on scale. It's often easier and cheaper to house 10-15 people at an Airbnb than it is at a brand-name hotel.

Also airbnb usually includes a kitchen. Eating out everynight gets both old and expensive.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#195

Post by rhizome »

bpodgursky wrote: post #178
bingidingi wrote: post #174

This is horrifying. I know we feel like there's nothing we can do and this type of thing is old news, or maybe a risk no matter where you are... but I can't do business with a company that reacts this way.

Do you have a reason to think AirBnB is doing anything less moral than existing hotel or motel chains? I would expect most operators to call the police and hire lawyers to ensure that their liability stays at 0, and not much else. AirBnB is offering victims sometimes millions of dollars to settle claims, but they cannot force the victims to do anything. It turns out that as individual agents with free agency, the vic…

>Do you have a reason to think AirBnB is doing anything less moral than existing hotel or motel chains?

I don't know about their morality, but their ethics appear to built upon Not Invented Here syndrome, where they don't allow themselves to learn from the (long) history of hotel and motels.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#196

Post by judge2020 »

sidlls wrote: post #187
shiftpgdn wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rapes, robberies, burglaries and lots of other bad things happen at Hotel chains too. They just have a structured management and PR department to do a better job of keeping it under wraps.

It's a matter of frequency, opportunity, and deterrence. Do you have statistics to compare, or are you just making conjecture? It's fairly straightforward to go after Airbnb: put some teeth behind the regulations with respect to enforcement and impose really painful financial penalties. Also criminal ones: it's pretty clear that the executives and senior management are flouting the laws and regulations--punish them f…

The problem is that there are no statistics whatsoever in this thread.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#197

Post by mtlynch »

HeavenFox wrote: post #192
tootie wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone using an apartment as an Airbnb (as so many in NYC do) won't have the authority to change the lock type on their door without approval from building management.

If you have a management company chances are they don’t allow you to Airbnb your apartment in the first place

That's the parent poster's point.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#198

Post by drstewart »

Havoc wrote: post #177

This is why I still largely prefer name brand hotels. Stuff can still go wrong but having a manager to speak to backed by the rep of a major brand that needs to protect its image helps. Airbnb you’d think would be the same but there have been countless of articles like this and all seems well in their rep land anyway And bizarrely pricing has largely converged anyway. Airbnb and name brand hotel often isn’t that far…

>that needs to protect its image helps.

You mean they spend millions of dollars to make nightmare PR go away?

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#199

Post by rsj_hn »

Havoc wrote: post #177

This is why I still largely prefer name brand hotels. Stuff can still go wrong but having a manager to speak to backed by the rep of a major brand that needs to protect its image helps. Airbnb you’d think would be the same but there have been countless of articles like this and all seems well in their rep land anyway And bizarrely pricing has largely converged anyway. Airbnb and name brand hotel often isn’t that far…

In my experience, boutique hotel chains are much more likely to overcharge you. With AirBnB, you pay ahead of time and the host does not have access to your financial info. Totally different situation with a hotel, where I've had to resort to legal threats to get deposits returned after waiting over a year. AirBnB has downsides on some risk in having the unit not be as described, but it is much safer than hotels when it comes to payment, overcharges, undocumented charges, refunds, etc.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#200

Post by throwaway803453 »

Havoc wrote: post #177

This is why I still largely prefer name brand hotels. Stuff can still go wrong but having a manager to speak to backed by the rep of a major brand that needs to protect its image helps. Airbnb you’d think would be the same but there have been countless of articles like this and all seems well in their rep land anyway And bizarrely pricing has largely converged anyway. Airbnb and name brand hotel often isn’t that far…

>>And bizarrely pricing has largely converged anyway.

If you are single with no kids and usually eat out, then yes. But is this still true if you are traveling with your family ? Just the ability to cook breakfast in an AirBnB seems like a huge money saver. It's likely why some AirBnB hosts claim that properties with more bedrooms have a much lower vacancy rate than smaller properties.

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