Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned • Hacker News Board

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#171

Post by thret » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:12 PM UTC

dmm wrote: post #145

speckledjim wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the worst that could happen is the host is a psycho who wants to murder / rape / take nude pics of you without you knowing. There's a reason hotels exist, and there's a reason why it's a bad idea to hitch-hike, or even worse, stay with people you don't know.

Everything in life carries risks. Trusting strangers is nice. I'd rather live in a world where I can. Then again I live in a place where people leave their cars unlocked.

Absolutely. The few times I've been surprised by the kindness of strangers stand out to me as some of the most pleasant experiences of my life.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#172

Post by maratd » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:13 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #147

I get angry when I realize I will never again be who I've always been before, someone who lived strong and free by the creed that people are essentially good, that if you think optimistically, trust others. Please don't let them steal this too. I'm really sorry for your bad experience, but remember: - You can still live strong and free. - People are still essentially good. - You can still think optimistically. - You…

> - People are still essentially good.

Out of every 100 people, 98 are absolutely wonderful human beings, 1 is an asshole, and 1 is a lunatic. My experience out of doing retail for a few years.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#173

Post by mseebach » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:13 PM UTC

ry0ohki wrote: post #168

mseebach wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? It's built on . Controlling the communication is about avoiding "20% discount if you pay me in cash up front" scams, and yes, about protecting AirBnBs revenue stream. It's a trade-off: This process enhances trust since you know your host doesn't get your money until you've checked in and found everything to be in order - and the host knows that the money is held and that he won't have to deal with late or no paym…

If someone comes from Craigslist, you can at least Google for their name, try to find a Facebook page, etc... BEFORE they enter your house. At best, the way it is for the author, she could have done some checking, but at that point the freak is already in her house.

No, after the booking is completed, still well before keys are handed over, personal contact information is made available. Sure, it's inconvenient if you have to turn someone down after researching them but after they paid, but that's hardly the issue here.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#174

Post by PonyGumbo » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:14 PM UTC

maratd wrote: post #172

edw519 wrote: post #147

I get angry when I realize I will never again be who I've always been before, someone who lived strong and free by the creed that people are essentially good, that if you think optimistically, trust others. Please don't let them steal this too. I'm really sorry for your bad experience, but remember: - You can still live strong and free. - People are still essentially good. - You can still think optimistically. - You…

> - People are still essentially good. Out of every 100 people, 98 are absolutely wonderful human beings, 1 is an asshole, and 1 is a lunatic. My experience out of doing retail for a few years.

Note that these can be the same people on different days.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#175

Post by innes » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:22 PM UTC

asciilifeform wrote: post #170

innes wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are aware that there exist nasty people? People who take pleasure in inflicting pain? That's the simplest hypothesis. There's no need to lurch into dark conspiracy theories without any supporting evidence.

The polite "everything is beautiful" emails suggest against meth addicts. And it seems like too much work for a run-of-the-mill sadist.

You're right. This has the fingerprints of Big Hotel all over it.

It's clearly black-ops by a Hospitality-Industrial Complex team.

Gimme strength...

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#176

Post by wisty » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:23 PM UTC

speckledjim wrote: post #124

bambax wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. I'd be more than willing to use the service as a customer, but as a host? Never. If you're a customer the worst of the worst than can happen is you lose the rental fee and have to find a hotel. As a host, the worst that can happen is this.

No, the worst that could happen is the host is a psycho who wants to murder / rape / take nude pics of you without you knowing. There's a reason hotels exist, and there's a reason why it's a bad idea to hitch-hike, or even worse, stay with people you don't know.

A guest can only needs to steal credit card details to attack the host. The host needs to steal a whole house. That might be possible (through, say, AirBnB), but I doubt it would be easy.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#177

Post by Shenglong » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:26 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #147

I get angry when I realize I will never again be who I've always been before, someone who lived strong and free by the creed that people are essentially good, that if you think optimistically, trust others. Please don't let them steal this too. I'm really sorry for your bad experience, but remember: - You can still live strong and free. - People are still essentially good. - You can still think optimistically. - You…

You're very optimistic. While I don't agree that people are essentially good, I envy your ability to see the world that way.

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#178

Post by pavel_lishin » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:30 PM UTC

ry0ohki wrote: post #168

mseebach wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? It's built on . Controlling the communication is about avoiding "20% discount if you pay me in cash up front" scams, and yes, about protecting AirBnBs revenue stream. It's a trade-off: This process enhances trust since you know your host doesn't get your money until you've checked in and found everything to be in order - and the host knows that the money is held and that he won't have to deal with late or no paym…

If someone comes from Craigslist, you can at least Google for their name, try to find a Facebook page, etc... BEFORE they enter your house. At best, the way it is for the author, she could have done some checking, but at that point the freak is already in her house.

> If someone comes from Craigslist, you can at least Google for their name

You mean a name. Who says it's their name? The reason that we trust AirBNB and choose to host travelers is because if we do come home to find all of our things missing, AirBNB at least has a credit card on file, and can at least prove to the police that someone was staying at your place?

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#179

Post by rams » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:30 PM UTC

PonyGumbo wrote: post #174

maratd wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - People are still essentially good. Out of every 100 people, 98 are absolutely wonderful human beings, 1 is an asshole, and 1 is a lunatic. My experience out of doing retail for a few years.

Note that these can be the same people on different days.

Great observation !

Re: Violated: A traveler’s lost faith, a difficult lesson learned

#180

Post by pavel_lishin » Wed, Jul 27, 2011, 1:32 PM UTC

joshfraser wrote: post #20

This is not the first story like this I have heard about AirBnB. They have just done a good job keeping them hush hush and talking people out of going to the cops. Obviously stories like this are horrible for their reputation and AirBnB have a big incentive to try and take care of issues on their own.

What in the world do they offer hosts to keep them from going to the police? And what kind of host would contact AirBNB before calling the police? If I came home and my apartment was ransacked, I'd probably be on the phone to 911 before I even set foot inside.