No brainer. Build insurance into the site. Renters can either opt for it or not, or AirBnBcan be provided it universally, their call. AirBnB needs to step up their protections. (my apologies if others have already suggested this.)
The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
131–140 of 243 posts
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#132While the right PR thing for Airbnb to do is cover the damages done, I am a little disappointed by the Airbnb hate I'm reading here. Why should they be held liable for the damages? Were they negligent? Airbnb offers a service. They match renters with houses. Do they make any warranty as to the reputation of the renters? Go to http://www.airbnb.com/terms and read the very first section.
I'll admit that the victim has a good point about the secrecy imposed between the parties by Airbnb, but that's just a policy, not a liability, and it can be changed. It's like buying a car that isn't as safe as it could be. Sure you could pay more and get a very safe car, but as long as the manufacturer didn't misrepresent the safety of the car, you will have a hard time holding the company liable when you get injured in a crash.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#133If AirBnB comes to the rescue with lots of zeros on their donations to make the person whole. I can envison people taking advantage of this, Have your buddy ransack your house and steal all your stuff, then split the gain of having it all replaced.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? They insure one specific thing: a contract between two individuals that they trust. The only way they lose out is if they don't actually have any realistic way to enforce the contract on the renter— which would surely be a way bigger problem for their business than having to pay out some fraudulent damages?
"Some" fraudulent damages? If people figure out a reliable means to defraud you, they will do it until you fix the problem. And, congratulations, now your primary focus is fraud detection . You're now an insurance company. There's also the fact that insurance companies are subject to many laws and regulations that other businesses are not.
You're missing my point— "Fraud detection" in Airbnb's case means "ensuring that owners and renters are who they say they are."
Surely that should already be a primary focus of theirs.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
As was pointed out before, it's not possible to get insurance for this - homeowner's insurance specifically disclaims damage from renters, and it's generally not legal to rent your premises like this unless you comply with all the hotel rules, so AirBnb can't take out insurance either. All they can do is self-insure, and if they start paying out, people will realize "Hey, I can get a new TV if I let my friend come an…
It should be possible. I see this as the exact same situation as http://www.getaround.com/ , who are, according to techcrunch, "The Airbnb For Cars". They have a policy with Berkshire Hathaway that covers any damage to the rented cars. You can write insurance for anything, if you're willing to pay enough premium. I can't imagine this premium would be that exorbitant for Airbnb to pay for it's users, just as Getaround…
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Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there were no bugs. The utter destruction of your home at the hands of a service that aims to help you monetize it is ipso facto a bug. Intent: create value. Result: destruction of value. Bug! It would be like a roach trap that helped roaches breed instead of killing them. It's pretty simple. You can't talk to guests until the transaction is consummated. If that's so, it's on Airbnb to make sure that they're not se…
The utter destruction of your home at the hands of a service that aims to help you monetize it is ipso facto a bug. Again, Airbnb didn’t destroy her home. Are you under the impression that someone from Airbnb itself was the one staying at her house? Intent: create value. Result: destruction of value. Bug! You’re basically defining what you want the responsibilities of Airbnb’s service to be and then faulting them acc…
Conveniently, you fail to address the point upon which this whole issue is predicated:
"You can't talk to guests until the transaction is consummated. If that's so, it's on Airbnb to make sure that they're not sending a dangerous creep into your arms."
No one thinks anyone from Airbnb blew up her home, dude. I'm not paid well enough to know if this meets the standard of tortious negligence. Yet it was negligence. Had she not used the service, she'd be fine now.
And, I mean, if you've got such a boner for the business side of this, in what universe can you trust a service like Airbnb now? You can't vet people until you're locked in, you have no recourse if you get screwed. This is a business problem, without the morality of hey, it's a good idea not to bring harm into people's lives.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#137[deleted]
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
As was pointed out before, it's not possible to get insurance for this - homeowner's insurance specifically disclaims damage from renters, and it's generally not legal to rent your premises like this unless you comply with all the hotel rules, so AirBnb can't take out insurance either. All they can do is self-insure, and if they start paying out, people will realize "Hey, I can get a new TV if I let my friend come an…
It should be possible. I see this as the exact same situation as http://www.getaround.com/ , who are, according to techcrunch, "The Airbnb For Cars". They have a policy with Berkshire Hathaway that covers any damage to the rented cars. You can write insurance for anything, if you're willing to pay enough premium. I can't imagine this premium would be that exorbitant for Airbnb to pay for it's users, just as Getaround…
The difference is that the cars on Getaround are presumably owned by the people listing them on the service. Much of Airbnb's inventory is comprised of rented apartments. Most rental agreements (in the US at least) prohibit occupancy by people not party to the rental agreement without prior landlord approval. Given that dynamic, Airbnb would probably have a difficult time finding a blanket policy for damages. Most insurers just aren't clamoring to cover activity that's in breach of prior contracts.
As a renter, you can of course take out renters' insurance to protect yourself, however, it's unlikely your insurance company would willingly reimburse you for damage caused by an unauthorized subletter.
There's a good reason VRBO has "By Owner" in its name.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
As was pointed out before, it's not possible to get insurance for this - homeowner's insurance specifically disclaims damage from renters, and it's generally not legal to rent your premises like this unless you comply with all the hotel rules, so AirBnb can't take out insurance either. All they can do is self-insure, and if they start paying out, people will realize "Hey, I can get a new TV if I let my friend come an…
>and it's generally not legal to rent your premises like this unless you comply with all the hotel rules, so AirBnb can't take out insurance either. can UberCab happen here, ie. some zealous DA would come down on AirBnB itself and/or subpoena the records of people renting out?
Sure. I would think that sooner or later, the hoteliers in, say, Manhattan would start complaining about people engaging in hotel business without following the hotel rules. There's a financial incentive as well:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/business/business_tax_hotel...
So yes, at some point I'd say it is likely that AirBnb's records are going to be used against their customers. Some of AirBnb's customers aren't breaking the law, but some are.
Re: The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As User’s Home Is Utterly Trashed
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What would you have rather AirBnB done in this situation? Make their user whole with a big fat wad of cash that approaches the value lost in the described crime. Relocation assistance. Go completely above and beyond. > Do you not think it's a little unreasonable that AirBnB would have to take on the role of the insurer here ? In general? Sure. Here? Absolutely not unreasonable. This is the absolute worst case scena…
No, the worst-case scenario would be that guest copies keys, returns, and rapes and kills the owner/occupant. Remember: once you've allowed physical access to your resources (computer, accounts, home, ...), all bets are off with regards to future security. AirBnB has a pretty intractable problem here. People aren't fundamentally vettable. It's an age-old problem. TSA, the HUAC, lie detectors, loyalty oaths, pledges,…
Worst case scenarios could come when the host is the lunatic.