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Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

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Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#261

Post by LordAtlas »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #76
_yb2s wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At this point the cleaning fees are just a scam to make the listing fee seem artificially lower. People did the same thing on eBay by making the items almost free but the shipping expensive, until they fixed the eBay interface, e.g. by letting you sort by price + shipping and showing shipping fees before you click.

Cleaning fees aren't a "scam" - most property owners really do need to pay someone to clean the property at the end of a stay. But, as another commenter said, they can be used as a way to encourage longer stays, as with most places you only pay a single cleaning fee regardless of the length of your stay. But, again, it's just a fact that these rentals are usually just cleaned between guests (as opposed to a hotel whe…

It's a scam if a cleaning fee is charged and the renters are ALSO expected to do a truckload of cleaning themselves, for which the fee is presumably charged.

And a less charitable interpretation is that it's a scam because it's deceptive advertising to show a lower nightly rate.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#262

Post by objektif »

tuwtuwtuwtuw wrote: post #206
kibwen wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they took the time to implement the feature and actively decided to be shitty to their customers when they are given the choice Ah, but companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to be as shitty to their customers as they can get away with.

No they don't.

Dang what does your flamewar indicator say about these?

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#263

Post by LordAtlas »

smith7018 wrote: post #88
idiotsecant wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, scam is the right word. It could pretty easily be rolled into the advertised nightly rate.

OP is right that it's not necessarily a _scam_ but is more so deceptive advertising. You're also right that they should just show total cost of your stay rather than the nightly rate pre-fees. It's wild to me that Airbnb hasn't done this because it's one of the worst parts of their service that has pushed me (and others I've talked to) back to hotels.

If you switch to the Australian AirBnB site, you can see an all-inclusive price because they are required by law to do so there.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#264

Post by lazyasciiart »

adolph wrote: post #195
bombcar wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of the above makes total sense (to me) when you realize that people don't know how to price rentals at all - just like the average person doesn't know how to price restaurant food. When you know truly how to price (and cost!) something, you know when and where you can offer discounts. If cost to acquire a tenant is $2k, then the discount to preserve a good tenant should be about $2k per tenant turnover time .

> people don't know how to price rentals And "helping" them is a lawsuit magnet: Big landlords are colluding to raise rents, D.C. lawsuit alleges https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38155840

The lawsuit is about helping them using non-public data from other companies. Nothing stops the platform from making all the rental data public and giving the same recommendations.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#265

Post by AlexandrB »

loeg wrote: post #36
sneak wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re paying the cleaning fee anyway, why would you do any of that stuff?

The hosts could leave you a bad review which can make it harder to book in the future.

I love how we went from "the customer is always right" to this.

/s

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#266

Post by klinquist »

mholt wrote: post #22

I'm worried this ban will only affect honest hosts. Anyway, what Airbnb should really ban is hosts charging a mandatory cleaning fee when also requiring their guests to do the cleaning. We just stayed at one this weekend, and like almost all our previous bookings, the host asked us to: - Take off all bedding and towels and start a load of laundry - Do all the dishes and start the dishwasher (but required to hand-wash…

I'm a host. I charge a $200 cleaning fee and my cleaners charge me $250, so I lose money on cleaning.

I ask guests to:

* Strip the beds (otherwise, I find that people re-make beds and it's hard to tell if they have been slept in), * Load and start the dishwasher (the dishwasher takes 4 hrs, and the cleaners travel to my remote house, and I want to make sure they can finish in about that time) * Take the trash down to the garage (to avoid ants)

I pay a neighborhood kid to take the trash bins from the garage to the street on trash day.

I successfully manage my place remotely (3hrs away) via a good cleaner and home automation (detailed here: https://www.linquist.com/airbnb/automation). 4.99 stars, superhost.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#267

Post by dawnerd »

lukan wrote: post #107
renewiltord wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I've often forgotten and left my ipad on cellular or my phone non-aircraft-moded. No one has ever said anything so it's unlikely they have automatic detection.

It also never happened to me, but I heard of stories, where the stewardess walked around with one. But they might have gotten less paranoid about it(since nothing ever happened?). Chances of bad interference are probably very low.

I fly a lot and haven't head of this at all. Sounds like one of those stories that spread from someone thinking they saw something when in reality it was a crew with a phone checking seats for passengers.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#268

Post by dawnerd »

loeg wrote: post #36
sneak wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re paying the cleaning fee anyway, why would you do any of that stuff?

The hosts could leave you a bad review which can make it harder to book in the future.

With instant booking isn't that pretty much pointless now? I'd rather have a low rating than be scammed.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#269

Post by dawnerd »

cameldrv wrote: post #127
alistairSH wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you need to reserve and pay for a cleaning crew as if it was always a disaster. Yet hotels manage this fine - it's just baked into the price. I don't have a problem paying a cleaning fee. I just don't want to pay the fee AND be required to do 90% of the cleaning myself. I'm happy to put the dishes in and then start the dishwasher. I'm not going to wait around for it to finish and then put them away. I'm happy to pile…

This is the fundamental problem with AirBnb as a business instead of a side gig. The hotel has massive economies of scale in cleaning and other things, because they have dozens of rooms on site. If one room gets totally trashed, they just won’t use that one until they get around to cleaning it. If a guest checks out late or wants to extend their stay, they just put the next guest in a different room. Also the cleanin…

This may be true for hosts with one property but it's becoming more and more common for management companies to own a lot of properties on airbnb. The whole economies of scale have been figured out.

Re: Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras

#270

Post by kwhitefoot »

kube-system wrote: post #208
GJim wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I found it to be understandable I'm astounded you found it understandable. If I'm renting rooms, I certainly don't expect the landlord to be in the business of filming myself or family, especially as we may well be walking around sans clothing. Not only is this rather illegal, I suggest plenty of people would find themselves responding to the landlord rather violently in such a situation. And I would not blame them…

My experience was such that it wasn't that way at all. The camera was indoors but not in areas of the house where someone would be walking around without clothing, and they were clearly disclosed in advance before booking, and they were clearly visible in the home.

Why would I not be able to be naked in all parts of the house?
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