Poll: Airbnb controversy - Does it matter?
16 comments
Poll is broken and will yield biased results. For example: I haven't used Airbnb before and I never will, not because of these events but because I'm just not interested in the service.
There's been a lot of press about this because "every day is repost day" and blogs want to milk hits. It's a notable incident, but most of the press is just trying to milk ad impressions from attention while it lasts.
There's been a lot of press about this because "every day is repost day" and blogs want to milk hits. It's a notable incident, but most of the press is just trying to milk ad impressions from attention while it lasts.
Maybe instead of "used AirBnB" you say something like "rented out a space with AirBnB" or something to the effect - I doubt the tenants are concerned with the breakin, but many landlords would be, yet both would be considered to have "used AirBnB".
1 out of 2M doesn't worry me. I'm surprised by how badly they are handling this. This kind of PR snafoo happens all the time, they should have been all over it from the beginning ensuring she felt like they were helping her solve all of it. Flying out to meet her and everything. It blows my mind if it's true that they brought up that she should take down her words cause it was negatively portraying them.
Most people are reasonable and would not write off the whole platform because of 1 out 2M incident, most will just take more precautions, some will just be comfortable with the odds.
Most people are reasonable and would not write off the whole platform because of 1 out 2M incident, most will just take more precautions, some will just be comfortable with the odds.
It's not the odds X out of 2M (not 1, those were "nights", and this probably isn't the only incident either?) that worries me, it's the whole procedure that they use to do business.
I haven't used AirBnB, but was considering using them in the near future for travel, and possibly to try to reduce losses on my bachelor pad (until I hit the end of my lease).
While the current incident doesn't make me feel unsafe in those choices (statistics are good), AirBnB's handling of it has left me with no confidence whatsoever that they are a well-managed or reasonable company. They may well be awesome people... but they do have competition, and I'll be using them instead. First impressions matter.
While the current incident doesn't make me feel unsafe in those choices (statistics are good), AirBnB's handling of it has left me with no confidence whatsoever that they are a well-managed or reasonable company. They may well be awesome people... but they do have competition, and I'll be using them instead. First impressions matter.
How about an option: "I've never used Airbnd, don't care about this event, and have been flagging the excessive number of articles about them."?
I selected "I've used Airbnb and I will keep using them" because I have found spaces to live at for a few days but haven't actually lived in them yet. I will be pretty soon, though.
Everyone I've been in contact with seems very nice and understanding and I'm pretty satisfied with it all thus far. I'm hoping everything works out. I might be SOL otherwise, i.e. spending a hell of a lot more money than planned.
It was only a matter of time before an incident like the one EJ had became a reality. I'm sure there will be more, but that's the nature of this beast. Out of the 2 million places that have been booked, I think having one or two be fuck ups is great. If it stays like this, or becomes >= 1 for every 2 million, I will continue using Airbnb or similar services.
Most people are nice and trustworthy, but there will always be the handful psycho/sociopaths that make a good thing go awry.
Everyone I've been in contact with seems very nice and understanding and I'm pretty satisfied with it all thus far. I'm hoping everything works out. I might be SOL otherwise, i.e. spending a hell of a lot more money than planned.
It was only a matter of time before an incident like the one EJ had became a reality. I'm sure there will be more, but that's the nature of this beast. Out of the 2 million places that have been booked, I think having one or two be fuck ups is great. If it stays like this, or becomes >= 1 for every 2 million, I will continue using Airbnb or similar services.
Most people are nice and trustworthy, but there will always be the handful psycho/sociopaths that make a good thing go awry.
Very simple, reviews and ratings are very important for anywhere I book. If it is AirBnb, which I've used twice in the last 4 months -- once in the city, once in Amsterdam, and I have an upcoming visit in Prague. I look for a track record of decent reviews.
If I am booking a hotel, I hit tripadvisor before booking any hotel. The internet is very helpful for this sort of thing and that is something that people used to rely on guide books for (Lonely Planet and Let's Go guides come to mind).
The current situation in the news is a reason while I will never open my house to a similar situation. If I were to rent out a room, I would make sure someone was around. If it was the whole house, it would be set up as a rental not as my personal home.
If I am booking a hotel, I hit tripadvisor before booking any hotel. The internet is very helpful for this sort of thing and that is something that people used to rely on guide books for (Lonely Planet and Let's Go guides come to mind).
The current situation in the news is a reason while I will never open my house to a similar situation. If I were to rent out a room, I would make sure someone was around. If it was the whole house, it would be set up as a rental not as my personal home.
There's a huge difference to being a renter and the person renting out the place. Every story questioning AirBNB as a service I've seen has failed to differentiate from being a landlord and a renter.
Even before this, I would not have rented out my apartment. But I see much lower risks to renting others' apartments - especially when I can choose to rent only places with a lot of positive reviews.
Some may shy away from renting out their place after this, absolutely. But on the tenant side, people who would have considered renting but will no longer consider are either shunning AirBNB's reaction or illogical.
Even before this, I would not have rented out my apartment. But I see much lower risks to renting others' apartments - especially when I can choose to rent only places with a lot of positive reviews.
Some may shy away from renting out their place after this, absolutely. But on the tenant side, people who would have considered renting but will no longer consider are either shunning AirBNB's reaction or illogical.
I was unlikely to ever use the service to begin with, not being a big traveler, but I would use the service if it made sense.
I feel sorry for the victim, but there's little I could do, so the only real affect it has had on me was to convince me to trawl through "new" and look for more interesting stories to read, rather than the Nth rehash of this one.
I feel sorry for the victim, but there's little I could do, so the only real affect it has had on me was to convince me to trawl through "new" and look for more interesting stories to read, rather than the Nth rehash of this one.
How about this option: "I didn't know about Airbnb, just learned about them from that scandal and may use Airbnb in the future"?
I've used Airbnb and will keep using them, but hope that they significantly change their operations to address the concerns raised!
I also hope that they make some significant updates to their PR and Crisis PR team and processes, so they are better equipped to handle crises like this in the future.
I also hope that they make some significant updates to their PR and Crisis PR team and processes, so they are better equipped to handle crises like this in the future.
I'm surprised how strongly this seems to have affected those in the HN community. This is a very pro-YC and pro-startups group, and the most popular answer is "I never will (because of these events)".
I used AirBnb in the past, had a great experience with them, love the service, and will use them in the future.
This is a one-in-a-million incident, blown out of proportion and turned into melodrama.
This is a one-in-a-million incident, blown out of proportion and turned into melodrama.
I've used AirBnB as a renter, and I plan to rent out my spare room in the future (although not 'til January). While I'll take additional safeguards to make sure my stuff is protected, I'm not worried.
Where is "I haven't used Airbnb before and I never will (because it seems obvious that there is at least a small chance that I might end up with some nutcase in my house)"?
I want to know if what's happened and how they have handled it so far will change whether you use Airbnb.