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On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

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Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#61
post #38

I can't stop thinking that this was a top-secret hit job by some shady character working for the hotel industry looking to derail AirBnB's next fund-raising round. Heck, if Nixon could do it, why couldn't The American Hotel & Lodging Association? So my question to you is: am I quite paranoid or merely rather paranoid?

WHOA! And I lose respect for another Internet legend. :(

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#62
This already happens within regular hotel environments people have to be realistic and more sensible when renting out their living areas.

Additionally, Airbnb or another company should start to offer, FOR A Fee, a form of insurance to cover situations like this unfortunate scenario.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#63
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did not build the business this way. That was something done years ago by a single contractor without their knowledge, and it had an insignificant effect on their growth. Edit: Actually it sounds like it was several contractors ( http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/07/1-billion-1-br-amazin... )

Thank you for coming forth with a statement on this. I don't remember seeing one from you when this issue first cropped up, which really didn't look good. A lot of people referenced your "founders should push the envelope" phrase in your absence to explain it, which in my opinion made it look even worse. I value your word a lot more than I do theirs since they don't have a known reputation (with me). Culpable or not,…

I didn't know what happened when it first cropped up. I didn't hear the details till later.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#64
post #57
post #38

I can't stop thinking that this was a top-secret hit job by some shady character working for the hotel industry looking to derail AirBnB's next fund-raising round. Heck, if Nixon could do it, why couldn't The American Hotel & Lodging Association? So my question to you is: am I quite paranoid or merely rather paranoid?

Whatever you are, I'm the same, because it's the second thing I thought of. But the first thing was that there are a lot of privileged young people out there whose friends might very well have thought a week of utter abandonment and breaking every possible rule would be the height of fun. And yeah, I can easily see that privileged young asshole finding it the height of humor to email the owner every now and then sayi…

And you know? I grew up not knowing this, and I wish I still didn't know it.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#65
post #38

I can't stop thinking that this was a top-secret hit job by some shady character working for the hotel industry looking to derail AirBnB's next fund-raising round. Heck, if Nixon could do it, why couldn't The American Hotel & Lodging Association? So my question to you is: am I quite paranoid or merely rather paranoid?

Occam's razor favors the 'meth-heads in her flat for a week' or 'malicious crazy person' hypotheses over the 'top-secret hit job' hypothesis.

In your shoes, I would be more than a bit embarrassed to have espoused this particular conspiracy theory in public.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#66
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's say for a moment that AirBnB let you exchange private info prior to booking. You've then released you're information to a stranger who could do what they want with it. I've never rented with AirBnB, but sites like Homeaway do not restrict the passage of contact information, so I had to give my credit card information to a complete stranger. By bypassing AirBnB, youve no one on your side to protect your credit i…

I'm not sure where credit card information comes from, but there's a middle ground to the two extremes (AirBnB's where nothing is shared and yours where everything is). AirBnB can still process the payment while providing the other private information people need to truly verify potential occupants. No one's asking for credit card details, they are asking for emails, telephones and other basic contact information.

Right, but even if you exchanged your name and email or even phone number, how is that going to lead you to believe who the person "really" is? Now, more than ever, it's so easy to hide behind fake digital personas, so why does exchanging basic information mean that youre somehow safer? Because of Facebook? Or Twitter? Is a thief really going to broadcast their intentions over the internet and if you get their information sooner, you can find out before you become a victim? Why does it matter about when you get the information? How would having this information sooner protect her from this situation? Not to mention that you cant always predict what people are going to do. AIrBnB is a community that is supposed to be built on trust and I cant imagine that this is the norm with them. Shit happens, and it's terrible, but sometimes you just can't prevent it. I'd imagine that the company will come up with some sort of verification process soon to help add security, but there's only so much they can do.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#67
post #35
post #4

There continues to be a major point of conflict between EJ's concerns and AirBnB's position. In fact, the point of conflict is actually within AirBnB's safety policies itself: 1 - Private messaging that lets users learn about each other prior to booking, without revealing private information 2 - Reservation system that allows hosts to accept or decline guests, giving them complete control over who books their space I…

Not only are 1) and 2) inconsistent, but rejecting a booking negatively impacts your search-rankings and they warn you loudly about it. I've certainly been in the situation where I wanted to decline a booking, but the search ranking penalty made me re-consider.

I mean, if you get a sketchy feeling about someone you're talking to, I feel like it may be worth the risk of a few points. It's not like everyone is a bad guy.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#68
post #38

I can't stop thinking that this was a top-secret hit job by some shady character working for the hotel industry looking to derail AirBnB's next fund-raising round. Heck, if Nixon could do it, why couldn't The American Hotel & Lodging Association? So my question to you is: am I quite paranoid or merely rather paranoid?

From the victim's post: "...came into my home earlier this month (apparently with several others, according to witnesses)..." So there were several of them. If this were a hotel industry conspiracy, I think it would be very difficult to pull off this way. All you need is for one renter to do this. Adding people to the conspiracy puts your conspiracy at risk of being found out. However, it's not too hard to imagine a…

not necessarily all of the thugs had to be in on the conspiracy. perhaps only one was paid off.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#69
i guess i feel like this is totally unsurprising, except that a similar incident hadn't been publicized already. i felt exactly the same way about Getaround, which is AirBnB for your car - hobos will definitely rent my car and defecate and copulate in it.

Re: On Safety: A Word From Airbnb

#70
post #19

I want to believe that people are fundamentally good as well and there is definitely evidence that supports that. But this incident has left a bad taste in my mouth, and their response hasn't made me feel any better. It's not like Ebay where if you have a bad experience, your loss is stemmed to the material good you have given away. On AirBnb, the potential harm in the worst case for both a guest and a host are massi…

It's not like Ebay where if you have a bad experience, your loss is stemmed to the material good you have given away If you're going to play the rape-or-death card, then why not also say that an EBay package you receive could contain a bomb or anthrax spores? Personally speaking, AirBnB always baffled me, even before this incident. I would never have given my home for others to use and would find it weird to use that…

an EBay package you receive could contain a bomb or anthrax spores?

Or, perhaps, even a bobcat.

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