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Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

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Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#71

Post by johngalt »

mbreese wrote: post #3

Any of Airbnb's competitors are going to use this to their advantage. Rightfully so too... I didn't even know about Roomorama until this story. The biggest part of the story though was thrown in at the end: The harrowing story of the Airbnb user EJ prompted Ms. En Teo to reach out to her competitors in order to set a precedent for sharing information about sketchy users, so if she gets a report about misbehavior she…

Careful with that type of data sharing. It can fail the game theory test. Lets say I'm a selfishly amoral actor in the room rental industry, and I want to lock up the market for myself. I can silence all my competition by releasing blacklist information on a number of current users, then those users will be banned by other sites and forced to continue using my site.

Banks do this today with their info sharing through ChexSystems. I've seen banks that will report their current account holders for the most trivial violations. The result being that the account holder can't open an account anywhere else.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#72

Post by [deleted] »

wccrawford wrote: post #5
mbreese wrote: post #3

Any of Airbnb's competitors are going to use this to their advantage. Rightfully so too... I didn't even know about Roomorama until this story. The biggest part of the story though was thrown in at the end: The harrowing story of the Airbnb user EJ prompted Ms. En Teo to reach out to her competitors in order to set a precedent for sharing information about sketchy users, so if she gets a report about misbehavior she…

They have to be careful, though, as this kind of thing can be considered libel or slander if not 100% true, and collusion even if it is true. Having an industry-wide blacklist will almost definitely run afoul of the law.

[deleted]

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#73

Post by r00fus »

klenwell wrote: post #61
r00fus wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think roomorama.com's idea to increase vetting is a good start (along with black-list sharing, as nasty as that sounds to me)... but it's only a start. It doesn't, for example, deal with stolen identity. A recently stolen card+ID would bypass all of those protections, and easily lead to a quick buck for meth-lab operations (which is what EJ's situation sounds like it was).

Has anyone elaborated on the meth-lab scenario? I'd like to hear the economics on that. Wouldn't it be a lot of effort, planning, and personal risk for the bad guys to book the room through airbnb and then just trash it seemingly maliciously like they did? If this really was a case of some kind of mobile meth-lab operation, shouldn't we expect a number of other cases like this going on with airbnb rentals? I suspect…

I was just going with jonknee's assessment: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2814395

My parents' rental house which got used as a methlab when the original tenants left without notice (and apparently left it open). Some of the imagery seemed familiar.

Conspiracy theories aside, I'm sure most folks familiar with airbnb were wondering when this moment would occur, and what the response would be.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#74

Post by run4yourlives »

nupark2 wrote: post #38
run4yourlives wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They aren't, it's just a "smaller" scale using the internet. The business idea is proven, AirBnB is just leveraging technology to stake out a significant market share. Nothing wrong with this at all.

No, it's quite different. Vacation properties are set up for that purpose, with insurance, limited on-site personal property, etc. There have been online vacation property rental sites for years. AirBNB, however, sells itself as a mechanism for making some extra cash on your own actual day-to-day residence.

It doesn't really matter whether the property you are letting is your primary residence or not, really. What matters is that you aren't using it.

AirBnB caters to shorter, less formal stays than a normal rental site. It also presents a much improved User experience. It also implies that you can get in on this game if you don't actually own the property, but whether or not you can legally do this is up to you to know, not AirBnb.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#75

Post by run4yourlives »

joshfraser wrote: post #46
run4yourlives wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They aren't, it's just a "smaller" scale using the internet. The business idea is proven, AirBnB is just leveraging technology to stake out a significant market share. Nothing wrong with this at all.

You don't keep your birth certificate and grandmas jewelry at your vacation house.

You're an idiot if you keep these things in your house and then invite strangers to stay there.

That has nothing to do with AirBnB, or anything particular about their business model.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#76

Post by iamelgringo »

Some friends of mine started http://Tripping.com, which isn't about room rentals, it's about meeting strangers while traveling globally.

But, even since the beginning, their focus has been on security. I suspect that this is the advantage of having a female CEO / Founder. She grokked that as a potential problem from the very beginning.

Jen O'Neil, is one of the most fantastic young CEO's I know. The whole team is simply amazing.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#78

Post by chailatte »

Another sign that AirBnb could care less about its customers.

When first AirBnb heard about this, they could've

a.) Choose to protect her and other users from future incidents

b.) Hide and hope it goes away

If they choose a, 5 weeks ago, they would've already either changed the business process, or blogged about it to their community to warn them of danger (heck, the perp hasn't been caught/IDed yet).

But because nothing was done, the fact that they kept outputting PR responses, and offered no tangible amount/receipt/proof that they helped her, tells me that AirBnb is all about the $1 billion valuation. Nothing more.

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#79

Post by ChuckMcM »

dadkins wrote: post #24

Honest question: how is Airbnb or any of their competitors different than vacation rentals? You rent a house for a week when the owners aren't using it. Often the key's in a combo box or they mail it to you. The only real protection is a security deposit which you pay upfront. The concept has been around for ages.

The business isn't different, however if you have a vacation rental, as the owner, you don't "live" there so you don't have your valuables, the couch you inherited from a favorite aunt, the nice new tv etc etc.

Airbnb and others have you sharing your primary residence, which puts it at risk if you are not also there. (and perhaps even if you are).

Re: Airbnb Competitor Checks IDs: 'We Don't Want to Trade Security for Volume'

#80

Post by sprovoost »

kevinpet wrote: post #55

There's no real security in the process described. If they stole a wallet with a credit card, they also have the ID. I'd categorize it as actually harmful because it gives more of an illusion of security. Couchsurfing apparently has someone capable of logical thinking on staff. The round trip of verifying an address adds real security.

It helps, but it still wouldn't protect you from someone serious on bullying a host or the system.
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