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That business already exists: it's called the insurance industry. I'm shocked that AirBnb apparently hasn't availed themselves of it.
I'm also shocked that EJ did not avail herself of it.
Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
41–50 of 254 posts
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#42As much as some people might view this as "sometimes things go wrong", which is basically true, that's not the whole story. The story here is that people are doing things that in most jurisdictions are illegal. AirBnB is profiting off this. Do something illegal and you can't insure against any negative consequences. The whole EJ situation is a potential inflection point. Without knowing the full facts (which no one s…
> Why is a vandalized apartment leaving her homeless? I would guess the vandalization of her flat leads her to not feeling "safe" there anymore, and thus not being able to live there.
You should guess that; since it's what she said. I don't know why cletus didn't pick up on that.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#43As much as some people might view this as "sometimes things go wrong", which is basically true, that's not the whole story. The story here is that people are doing things that in most jurisdictions are illegal. AirBnB is profiting off this. Do something illegal and you can't insure against any negative consequences. The whole EJ situation is a potential inflection point. Without knowing the full facts (which no one s…
> Why is a vandalized apartment leaving her homeless? I would guess the vandalization of her flat leads her to not feeling "safe" there anymore, and thus not being able to live there.
Also, depending on the damage done the house might be fit for occupation until some work it done.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#44What's going to be a game changer is when stories start breaking about owners who rent out their space as a way to lure in people for killing or torturing them. Right now it's about "you were stupid, why did you rent your space out to strangers?". Later on it'll be "why did you try to save $20 and go sleep some place where you're 110% vulnerable?". You don't control the locks, you don't know the neighborhood or even…
What's going to be a game changer is when stories start breaking about owners who rent out their space as a way to lure in people for killing or torturing them. I agree 100%. However I ask say how in the world did you think about this?
Someone's been watching Hostel.
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there have already been cases of hosts faking complaints to AirBnB about "that guest stole X Y and Z"-- but because they're only after money in the first place, they're a lot easier to shut up.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#45This does answer one thing that puzzled me about the EJ story. If this was meth addicts, she surely couldn't have been the first victim of this sort of thing. If the culprits in this case aren't related to the ones in the EJ case, I'd be curious if there's an identifiable profile here. The stereotype of the meth addict I operate by is a down-market tweaker who'd have no idea Airbnb existed much less the patience or r…
She won't be the last either, unless Airbnb makes some sort of fundamental changes.
Not only is all of this press bad in terms of basic PR, but now the word is out (to those so inclined who weren't tech savvy enough to previously realize it even existed) that Airbnb is a good place to rent a temporary meth lab as long as you're capable of some basic identity theft.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#46Renting to strangers is like having sex without protection. Period.
There's lots of ways to protect yourself when renting to strangers. The fact that EJ and others do not avail themselves of the necessary insurance, etc. is what's reckless.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#47What's going to be a game changer is when stories start breaking about owners who rent out their space as a way to lure in people for killing or torturing them. Right now it's about "you were stupid, why did you rent your space out to strangers?". Later on it'll be "why did you try to save $20 and go sleep some place where you're 110% vulnerable?". You don't control the locks, you don't know the neighborhood or even…
Don't forget about the inevitable hidden cameras...
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#48Might have even been the same meth c[r]ooks. Kudos to Dayton for keeping a balanced perspective on the situation, and not equating customer service clumsiness with indifference. I like AirBnb. I will continue to use AirBnb as a guest. (Hypothetically if I were to be a host, I would only rent a hardened/rental-only property with careful assessment of the potential guests.) I am also still bullish on the general theme…
> Might have even been the same meth c[r]ooks. That's what I thought as well (both are SF Bay Area), though it's only a guess. The combination of meth-heads and identity theft seems weird to be repeated. I would even tentatively guess at the meth-heads trashing apts being a cover for someone else who got the idea of using AirBnB to acquire documents for an identity-theft ring, but who knows, it's possible there are a…
If you were gathering documents for an identity theft ring, would you go on a juvenile and pointless rampage in the houses you pilfered? Probably not, since that would only tip off the person being targeted to lock their credit. This is absolutely small time amateur shenanigans.
Imagine how the whole deal sounds from the angle of a drug addicted person who is comfortable committing petty/medium property crimes to fund their lifestyle. Unsuspecting urban/suburban dwellers will let you in their houses, unmonitored, for days or weeks, leaving them full of valuables and personal information, in exchange for a small fee that will never even be paid? Sounds like a criminal paradise to me.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#49If I were Arrington, I would have posted this story first thing Monday morning.
Oh, don't worry, I'm sure there's going to be a glut of these stories queued up for about 2am Tuesday morning.
Re: Another Airbnb Victim Tells His Story: “There Were Meth Pipes Everywhere”
#50As much as some people might view this as "sometimes things go wrong", which is basically true, that's not the whole story. The story here is that people are doing things that in most jurisdictions are illegal. AirBnB is profiting off this. Do something illegal and you can't insure against any negative consequences. The whole EJ situation is a potential inflection point. Without knowing the full facts (which no one s…
I made this point again.. as carr did in a recent article. All of you need to stop vilifying these people coming forward. She did nothing wrong except to believe all the hype of how great it is to rent out your living space to a complete strangers. Her only mistake was believing all this hype of disruption without understanding that there are reasons why hotels, and investment properties have certain laws and insurances to protect their businesses. Yes its time that people know and understand the possibilities of what can happen by renting out your personal living space to strangers. Ultimately what happens to Airbnb is up to them, but we need to stop placing and shifting blame on these people for using their service.