61–70 of 510 posts
Parallels with DropBox and their no password login disaster? Bad processes and a botched PR response. Methinks these super-hot startups may be reaching critical mass before they develop business maturity.
He then addressed his concerns about my blog post, and the potentially negative impact it could have on his company’s growth and current round of funding. During this call and in messages thereafter, he requested that I shut down the blog altogether or limit its access, and a few weeks later, suggested that I update the blog with a “twist" of good news so as to “complete[s] the story”. If this is true it is downright…
It gets worse. "Note: a second co-founder did email me for the first time around 2am yesterday, suggesting we meet for coffee as he 'would enjoy meeting' me. He made no inquiry into my current emotional state, my safety or my well being." Speechless. The lack of compassion for another human being here is staggering. Utterly oblivious — or indifferent. How does this happen to people?
We're very sorry about what's happened to you and seek to
resolve it. Let's have coffee as soon as possible to see
what we have to do to resolve the situation for you.
In our rush to disintermediate old industries we may discover that some of those intermediaries are there for a reason.
Bringing amateur operators into a sector with potential massive downsides with no education is extremely risky for AirBnB and the hosts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Once the mainstream press is going to pick this up (probably a WHEN, not IF the way it's going), they might not have another round of funding to give a shit about in the first place.
It's depressing, because AirBnB is a solid idea, if they can work some of the minor (ha!) kinks, like this, out of the system. But after falling flat on their face like this, I wouldn't be surprised to see the idea of "social housing" go the same way as the Zeppelin did after the Hindenberg. It's going to be forever tied to every homeowner's worst nightmare.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't like to be vulgar, particularly on HN, but it really needs to be asked. Is anyone here really all that surprised Chesky is a douche?
Or it might just be that the guy is under a lot of stress and making bad decision. Watching your company potentially go up in flames with one incident is probably not an easy situation in which to make decisions. We don't know the whole story. I understand the host stance also, basically on both sides they see things they've invested a lot into (her personal life and belongings, the company) be destroyed. I'm not say…
This guy was one of us reading HN and hoping to make it a couple of years ago. Now he's managing millions.
Nobody really prepared him for that. I can imagine phone calls from people above him counseling to kill the story.
He may even had wanted to take a different approach but bend to pressure for what we know. Money talks loudly.
I don't like the was he's dealing with it, I just want to say that it must be very hard to take good decisions in such a situation.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What I don't get is how AirBnB vets the people leasing in the first place. I have to get a background check when I get a job, when I rent an apartment...does AirBnB really just let people sign up under pseudonyms without doing any one-time identity or background checks? I realize a background check may not have helped at all in this situation, and I don't know how much personal info AirBnB has stored on the guy that…
It's not just the issue of accurate information. Hotels have a security infrastructure in place and the rooms are checked regularly. Had the criminals who did this tried it in a hotel there is a very good chance they would have been arrested straight away. They also have an agreement with the guest that the guest is liable for damages.
Thinking about it as a whole, I have to wonder if the proper response would be to have a host-to-guest feedback system. As a host, you can request that guests have a certain "level" of feedback, with the drawback of receiving a reduced amount of money. Then on the other side, guests can get that as discounts-- as they travel and get good feedback from the hosts, they then can bunk at with the people who are, in essence, charging less.
Or maybe the whole system is untenable and couldn't possibly work without webcams set up in every room of the host's house. I guess we'll find out where it goes in the next week or so.
Who really cares?
Will do.