This is a ridiculous article. Instead of just quoting an anonymous blog post, TechCrunch could be calling AirBNB, calling the victim, digging up the police report, locating the relevant profiles on AirBNB, and so on, and so forth. They have the resources, they could contributing to the understanding of this event, rather than just spreading FUD. There is no journalism present whatsoever, it is pure spin.
Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
101–110 of 144 posts
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
So ... I don't believe that level of emotional attachment is well understood by people who don't have their own business. There's criticism - in this thread and elsewhere - of how Airbnb have handled this whole situation, especially some of the information in the OP. I think there would be less criticism if more people understood the emotions of being a business owner - emotions lead us to do non-rational things. Edi…
Yes, the emotional attachment that founders have with their startups is pretty crazy. I think that rational founders learn to normalize it over the years though, at least that's what happened to me. Criticism sucks, but with a company like Airbnb that's the deal, and the founders knew it from the get go. This is the price (one of many) they pay for their eventual big payday. Overall, it's a pretty good deal though =)
> This is the price (one of many) they pay for their eventual big payday.
"Screw clients, acquire currency!"
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#103This is really crappy and airbnb fucked up big time, twice now. But... there's something odd about the way the victim writes, and I don't understand why it's jumping out at me: " bouncing between friends’ homes".. " clutching my pillow".. " breathing through panic attacks".. " scouring the city’s pawn shops".. " this too shall pass and I will be made whole again. "
as one smart commenter http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820778 has finally got it (and as usually - once somebody was able to get it and explained to the rest of us, it seems obvious ) - PTSD
I'm sorry, but I disagree with you (and upvoted that post). While post traumatic stress disorder is highly individualistic, one of the classic symptoms is a desire not to be reminded of the trauma (especially only five weeks after). Usually, at this point, a victim would be doing everything possible not to think of it.
Granted, PTSD is highly individualistic, but if you read the relevant medical literature, this is not a classic case.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just to clarify, since it took your second comment to get me to this understanding - Someone who was not the real owner of the apartment (presumably thief/criminal) put the place up on AirBnB. You unknowingly rented the place from this person, and during your stay, the real owner showed up and asked what you were doing in his house?
that is correct. The person who put up the listing claims to be friends with the tenant. The tenant has not paid rent in 4 months and his contract explicitly forbids subletting. So I am staying in this apartment illegally. Luckily, the owner is nice enough to let us stay for the remainder of our time without compensation. I have no idea how common this situation is but this is only our 6th time using airbnb and if th…
This storm just keeps getting bigger, like turning over a rock that had an ant on it, now has gobs of ants underneath that weren't seen before. If AirBnB cares about its future, they'll patch this up publicly and then get some serious crisis management consultation people in the mix. Yikes!
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#105I'm using airbnb in Berlin right now. Two days ago I received a knock on my door. Turns out it was the real owner of the apartment and he had the Paperwork to prove it. Fortunately he was nice enough to let us stay without compensation. When I went to the airbnb website to try and call them all I got was a web message box. I filled out a message and sent it on its way but that's a pretty lousy system. Luckily for me…
>Luckily for me my situation is nowhere as bad as ej but airbnb really needs a 24 hour hotline.
They don't have a 24 hour hotline? Crazy. Hotels do. Seems like this would be something worth spending the money on.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
It isn't disappointing, it is predictable. AirBnB has skirted the rules from day one, when they launched by spamming Craiglist. AirBnB brokers a service that is illegal in many jurisdictions, and they go out of their way to mask the serious risks their users (both renters and owners) are taking. And when the obvious happens, their response is self-serving.
Actually that was apparently not sanctioned, rather the work of some contractors acting off their own back.[1] [1]: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2815183
Ah, the News of The World defense.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know what they're smoking over there, honestly. Cut off all contact through their CS to the victim, and then have a cofounder want to "meet them for coffee"? After asking her to take down the blog or give it a positive-twist ending? I don't know what they're expecting but I'm hard-pressed to think of what they could do worse, short of joking about it on twitter. Edit: Holy god, I didn't realize the actual tim…
What you're calling a 'sudden Customer Service cutoff' is actually when (from victim's account) communication switched to being with a cofounder. That's escalation and unification, and it's not fair to portray a direct open line to the boss as a 'cutoff'. (That the victim portrays it that way suggests they may have had better rapport with the original CS liason. Perhaps that person included more social/emotional nice…
The CS liason sounds like they were actually trying to serve their customer. The interactions with the founder sound like her account got switched from "customer service" to "damage control."
Yeah, I get it, the business is his baby. But it's just a business, and it's just ruined someone's life for who-knows how long. Get your priorities straight. The business is just effort and money, it's not worth doing this kind of damage to other people, not even 1.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually that was apparently not sanctioned, rather the work of some contractors acting off their own back.[1] [1]: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2815183
Ah, the News of The World defense.
Ok I'll bite; actually quite different - there are (very) strong indications that the NotW's problems were part of the culture there which makes the idea that the bosses did not know seem very unlikely. In this case there are no such indications afaik.
In any case I wasn't taking a position (I simply do not know enough to do so), rather I wanted to provide some balance to the assertion that they spam which was stated as if it was absolute fact.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah, the News of The World defense.
Ok I'll bite; actually quite different - there are (very) strong indications that the NotW's problems were part of the culture there which makes the idea that the bosses did not know seem very unlikely. In this case there are no such indications afaik. In any case I wasn't taking a position (I simply do not know enough to do so), rather I wanted to provide some balance to the assertion that they spam which was stated…
The scale is obviously different, so in that sense I wasn't fair. But the defense is exactly the same, disclaiming responsibility for the acts of your contractors. I don't think any victim (Craigslist, NoTW phone hackees) cares about the fine point of the employment relationship.
EDIT: took EJ off the parenthesized list of victims, as she was not the victim of a contractor.
Re: Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry
#110As much as this sucks for EJ, she is being quite the crybaby. This has nothing to do with AirBnB and everything to do with the fact she handed over the keys to her personal flat (containing many expensive items and personal documents) to a complete stranger. The medium through which this stranger found you, be it a pinboard at a supermarket, craiglist, airbnb or through a foaf, is irrelevant.
Initially AirBnB may have been populated with California Apple fan boys (you can trust), but it's just a matter of time before Joe six-pack (who you maybe can't trust so much) gets on there.
If you rent out your place through AirBnB it should be YOUR responsibility to vet the person and / or make sure there is little to steal / destroy. This isn't the responsibility of the founders of AirBnB.