Slashdot Mirror

Yes, they have.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/ar...

Because white nationalists don't belong anywhere.

The only recourse AirBnB offers for finding an undisclosed surveillance device is a refund, as described at https://www.airbnb.com/help/ar...

The presence of an undisclosed camera is at most, a breach of contract. And since AirBnB anticipates this and prescribes a specific remedy, it won't be easy for a tenant to get any more compensation than a free rental. After all, the tenants agreed to the terms (and the specific remedy for undisclosed cameras) as part of the contract.

The USE of such a camera might be grounds for all sorts of civil & criminal trouble, but the proof of use is ultimately on you. If you call the cops, they would need a search warrant (in the landlord's home state) to do any meaningful followup. That's a lot of effort with a low probability of success. Without a solid reason to believe the camera was in use, I wouldn't bet much on the search warrant, much less the search. At best, you end up with a 5% chance of catching a landlord illegally using a camera vs. a 100% chance of getting blacklisted as a tenant.

What I think you'll see in the future is a boilerplate disclosure of surveillance devices, whether they are present or not, just as you can't open a food wrapper these days without some form of peanut disclosure. Otherwise, the only camera-free properties to rent will be those where the landlord manages the property in person. That would pretty much eliminate the entire category of vacation home rentals.

I tried to rent a place through Airbnb. The process went like so:

Me: I'm looking for a room for next tuesday.
Airbnb: What's your Facebook login?
Me: Do I look like an idiot?
Airbnb: How about your G+ account?
Me: I must look like an idiot.

So that was that. I haven't given them a second chance.

Not that it's necessary to "sign up" to search for a room, it's not, but you must have missed the "Sign up with Email" option.

It's not very visible, but it's below the idiot-proof Facebook button and below the idiot-proof G+ button.

Whats [sic] their patent portfolio look like?

After a quick search on the USPTO web site, there are no issued patents or published patent applications assigned to "airBNB" or "Airbed and Breakfast." Of the founding team, Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky, and Joe Gebbia, there is design patent (not utility patent, mind you) D540,097, "Portable seat cushion," listing a "Joseph Gibbia" as inventor, and assigned to "Joe Gibbia." Other than that, I couldn't find any issued patents or published patent applications associated with the founding team, either.

Of course, patent applications are published 18 months after they are filed, so it's possible they have some applications in the works of which we are not aware.

Ideally centralizing payment and identity verification to a 3rd party is a step up from Craigslist where you have to do it all yourself. EJ stated that AirBNB does not give out contact information until after someone's rented the place, preventing screening applicants.

However from the terms (keep in mind they may have changed it since EJ's case):

"1.2 Identity Verification. We make no attempt to confirm, and do not confirm, any user's purported identity. You are responsible for determining the identity and suitability of others who you may contact by means of this Site. We do not endorse any persons who use or register for our Services, whether as guests or hosts. We do not investigate any user's reputation, conduct, morality, criminal background, or verify the information that any user submits to the Site. We encourage you to communicate directly with potential hosts and guests through the tools available on the Site and to review your hosts’ and guests’ profile pages for feedback from other users.

13.1 IF YOU USE OUR SERVICES, YOU DO SO AT YOUR SOLE RISK. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT Airbnb DOES NOT CHECK ANY GUEST, HOST, OR OTHER USER’S BACKGROUND OR RECORD. Airbnb IS A REPUTATION-BASED SYSTEM. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHER USER’S COMMENTS AND THIRD-PARTY REFERRALS ON HOSTS AND GUESTS. USE COMMON SENSE. BE AWARE AND BE SAFE. OUR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, AND YOU WAIVE, ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

14.1 WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, GENERAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES) EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO: (A) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE OUR SERVICES; (B) HARM OR DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY AS A RESULT OF USING OUR SERVICES; (C) DISCLOSURE OF, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR CONTENT; (D) ANY HARM TO YOU CAUSED IN WHOLE OR PART BY A THIRD PARTY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANOTHER USER OF THE SERVICES; (E) STATEMENTS, CONDUCT OR OMISSIONS OF ANY GUEST, HOST, OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES ON OUR SERVICES; OR (F) YOUR OR ANYONE ELSE'S CONDUCT OR ACTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FROM INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OF OUR SERVICES OR PERSONS INTRODUCED TO YOU BY OUR SERVICES, WHETHER ON-LINE OR OFF-LINE."

In essence, I find it hard to understand what added value AirBNB provides over either Craigslist (pay) or Couch Surfing (free, reputation-based).

It's awful that this happened to her but I'm in a bit of disbelief that someone could be this free with their home.

From reading her blog posting (from a month ago?) about this, it seems she didn't really follow the Safety Tips for Hosts on Airbnb. It didn't sound like she really vetted the person that was going to rent (supposedly you can turn down potential renters. They say to look for full profile info, pictures, that sorta thing. She didn't even know the person's real name...). I could see using the service if you had an extra vacation home, condo, or similar where the furnishings weren't necessarily precious beyond their retail cost but for the location you keep your documents, heirlooms, and porn?

Wasn't there a story about a car rental service with a similar model (rent your personal car to complete strangers)? I have to wonder how they handle something similar.

I also wonder how Home/Renters insurance companies view something like this. In their shoes, I certainly would want to raise rates on someone that is so carefree with what you are trying to insure.

It just seems a bit naive to me. Airbnb should vet the renters better or at least offer some form of insurance policy, but this was just an incident waiting to happen.

I honestly wish I could view the world with the same amount of trust that 'EJ' can (well, or could, this is likely a hard lesson).