Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Airbnb Announces Its Plan To House 100,000 People In Need (backchannel.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the lend-a-helping-hand dept.

New submitter mirandakatz writes: Airbnb has just unveiled its Open Homes Platform, a home-sharing site for hosts motivated by goodwill instead of profits -- and for guests motivated by need rather than wanderlust. Specifically, Airbnb is going to begin by connecting refugees with hosts in Canada, France, Greece, and the United States. Ultimately, refugees will be just one group that the site aims to help: Site visitors can also nominate other groups of people for temporary placements, and the platform will expand to include them eventually. At Backchannel, Jessi Hempel dives into the home-sharing platform's latest effort, and places it in the context of the company's broader business strategy.

79 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. temporary by turkeydance · · Score: 2

    until it's not

  2. I dunno by fluffernutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At first I thought this was a gracious gesture by a corporation, until I realized that AirBnB isn't really offering anything at all. How many properties will they be offering on their own? How many people have an extra property to volunteer to someone who may not even feel the need to use a bathroom?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:I dunno by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      The problem with the gig economy is that they are attempting to make profits from doing an end-run around regulation. If they fail, it will be because they are suffering from the very problems those regulations were meant to protect them from.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    2. Re: I dunno by Reverend+Green · · Score: 2

      Alternatively, his bigotry may result from his experience of dispossession. Being driven into destitution while foreign "guest workers" are imported to take one's former job is surely a traumatic experience.

      Some who live through that experience may curl up in a ball and wait to die. That's what the baizou elite like to see. Others who have been disposessed, like the GP, may turn in anger to bigotry and counter productive hatred of their fellow workers.

      Yet others may remember that all men are brothers, regardless of color or culture. They may come to recognize that all workers are exploited by the money power, the system of database-driven exploitation, that our fathers called capitalism and we call financialism. They may even begin to think about serious alternatives to that system. May try to imagine a new form of communism that throws off the chains of capital, while avoiding the well-documented shortcomings of Soviet-style authoritarian socialism.

    3. Re: I dunno by swillden · · Score: 1

      A lot of people I know, soon including myself, will code in C++ for food and a restroom. That's the reality of stupid america.

      Well, there's your problem: C++. You need to get with the times. Learn Rust.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    4. Re: I dunno by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      So the Germans inventing solutions around this problem and the signs they put up are just part of our collective imagination then? I personally know people that have seen this nonsense for themselves.

      If this were Hillbillies, you would have no trouble believing it or spreading it yourself.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    5. Re:I dunno by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      I would put this in the same category as Section 8 housing. Not everyone wants to be a slum lord and deal with that kind of crap. Once you actually own something and have skin in the game, you tend to change your tune.

      Repairs cost real money as do just the normal operating expenses.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    6. Re:I dunno by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

      At first I thought this was a gracious gesture by a corporation, until I realized that AirBnB isn't really offering anything at all. How many properties will they be offering on their own? How many people have an extra property to volunteer to someone who may not even feel the need to use a bathroom?

      Air B&B do not own properties. They are a listing agency that accepts reservations, vets the tenant(s), and rates the property lessor. Individuals who have spare apartments or rooms or suites that are available during parts of the year or months deal with AB&B to rent out furnished premises. Thnk about Olympics, and other tourist cities.

      --
      Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
  3. Not going to happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You want junkies and welfare people living in your house? I didn't think so.

  4. refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with Air by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with AirBnB pointing to there EULA sticking be with the legal bill.

  5. AirBnB presents... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Host your own terrorist program

    1. Re:AirBnB presents... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Can I put cameras in, house Sunni and Shia Muslims next to each other and sell it on pay-per-view?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Refugees? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    We have unemployed, homeless people right here that need housing...

    1. Re:Refugees? by stephanruby · · Score: 2

      When there is an earthquake or a hurricane, everybody wants to help the people who've been made temporarily homeless by the disaster.

      But if we're talking about chronically homeless people, people with mental problems, health problems, criminal convictions, and/or substance abuse problems. People are much less willing to put them up in their guest rooms. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

      And even among refugees, charities do not treat them all the same. The families and the highly educated usually get preferential treatment. After all, which would you rather have living in your extra guest room? A former doctor? Or a former taxi driver?

      Ultimately, this 100,000 figure for so many countries is just a drop in the bucket. That's just less than 2 per thousand if we assume a transitory refugee population of 60+ million worldwide.

    2. Re:Refugees? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      We have unemployed, homeless people right here that need housing...

      We don't feel sorry for them because they were displaced by corporate greed or medical conditions, not global conflicts. /s

    3. Re: Refugees? by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

      A large & visible homeless population is a powerful argument to wage slaves they they should keep on slavin' away.

    4. Re:Refugees? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Hmm... I have a doctor, but a personal chauffeur would be nifty.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re: Refugees? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Hey, Trump said that he's going to rip corporations a new one if they keep sending jobs away, so what were they supposed to do?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:Refugees? by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      We have unemployed, homeless people right here that need housing...

      Homelessness isn't the problem, it's a symptom. Usually "mental illness" is the actual problem, and that's the reason you can't just give a homeless person a house and make everything right again. That's also the reason they typically don't get a job.

      There are a few - very few - homeless people who don't have mental issues and just need a job. I knew a guy like that when I was younger. But that's a drop in the bucket.

      We'll always have the homeless.

      --
      Do you have ESP?
    7. Re:Refugees? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Not everyone wants to put up with that kind of crap. What's a schizoid going to do with one of your rental properties? The same goes for junkies? You are liable to get your property confiscated or condemned.

      It's even worse if it's your personal dwelling.

      Do you have a junkie sleeping on your couch? Probably not.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    8. Re:Refugees? by OhPlz · · Score: 1

      A greater number of the homeless are people who don't want to go to a shelter or use transitional housing because they don't allow drinking or drugging in those places.

    9. Re:Refugees? by robot5x · · Score: 1

      Homelessness isn't the problem, it's a symptom. Usually "mental illness" is the actual problem, and that's the reason you can't just give a homeless person a house and make everything right again. That's also the reason they typically don't get a job.

      Wrong. Wow do you know anything about this outside of the one guy you knew once? There's a really good evidence-base to suggest that simply having stable housing is the critical factor in someone managing their mental health issues. In your analysis, people can't hold jobs or tenancies until their 'mental illness' is dealt with appropriately. What do you propose, then? Asylums? Nice.

      Here's a guy who actually knows something on the topic. Give it a whirl.

      --
      Hej! Nasi tu byli!
  7. Comments not very Christian by mykepredko · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I RFTA and thought that this was a nice program allowing people to pay it forwards and then I read the comments.

    Wow. Not much love or sympathy in this group.

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
    1. Re:Comments not very Christian by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Comments not very Christian

      Christian? ACs barely even pass for human.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    2. Re:Comments not very Christian by gravewax · · Score: 1

      I am not an AC, I fucking hope I don't pass for Christian. I consider myself educated, sane and not in need of mythical beings to hover over me to act human.

    3. Re: Comments not very Christian by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

      Yet I would not be surprised if you believe in all the (impossible to prove or disprove by repeatable controlled experiment) tall tales and cosmological mythology preached under the banner of "science".

      Few and rare indeed are those who can live without some or another form of faith.

    4. Re: Comments not very Christian by gravewax · · Score: 1

      No unlike you I don't believe/have faith in anything that can't be proven/disproven by science. Faith is a crutch for the weak minded.

    5. Re: Comments not very Christian by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

      Perhaps. Or perhaps you just don't recognize your own faith.

    6. Re: Comments not very Christian by gravewax · · Score: 2

      perhaps . Or perhaps you are just reaching to justify your mythology.

    7. Re: Comments not very Christian by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Not over the stupid argument who has the cooler imaginary friend, at least.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    8. Re: Comments not very Christian by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I'm intrigued. What are you talking about? Science is actually all about repeatable documentation, so if you can actually show something to be false with repeatable experiments, we might be looking at a sensation.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    9. Re:Comments not very Christian by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Bigger audience? It's likely that more people who grew up in or even with a Christian background are reading here.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:Comments not very Christian by butchersong · · Score: 1

      Wow. Not much love or sympathy in this group.

      I remember reading about turning the other cheek but I don't recall anything about handing your wife or daughters over to be raped. Then again, I'm not super familiar with the bible.

    11. Re:Comments not very Christian by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Islam has been at war with Xianity for most of it's history.

      That makes these refugees more like Roman Soldiers than Samaritans.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    12. Re: Comments not very Christian by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Some things are inherently difficult to verify. Some of those get dressed up as "science". We are expected to accept those with as much blind faith as an evangelical.

      If you think something needs "disproven", you fundementally misunderstand science.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    13. Re:Comments not very Christian by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      I remember reading about turning the other cheek but I don't recall anything about handing your wife or daughters over to be raped. Then again, I'm not super familiar with the bible.

      I'm not sure whether you were being sarcastic, but if not you might want to read up on the story of Lot, who is said to have done exactly that—offered up his daughters to be raped by a mob in place of his guests. There is no mention of him being condemned for it either; if anything this show of "hospitality" toward his guests was part of the reason why he was deemed "righteous" and saved while the rest of the town, and all who lived there, were destroyed. Apparently no one asked the daughters for their opinion of this act of "hospitality".

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    14. Re: Comments not very Christian by gravewax · · Score: 1

      I love Terry's work (RIP). but he is no philosopher and I see nothing there that changes my view. I don't "believe" in justice, mercy, duty etc, they are just concepts created to create order in society. You don't need to believe in those things to be a decent human being, self preservation, the expectation that how you treat others is a good indicator of how you yourself will be treated and the emotional need for companionship are the realities.

    15. Re: Comments not very Christian by gravewax · · Score: 1

      please provide examples, everything in science that is not proven is not labelled as fact or expected to be taken on faith. They are labelled theories and are expected to be challenged. If you have examples where this is not occurring then they should be called out.

    16. Re: Comments not very Christian by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yes, some things are hard to verify. Or falsify, more correctly. But in the end, what we "dress up" as science is in such a case simply the most likely scenario. You are not expected to accept them with faith, you are expected to come up with an equally likely alternative scenario and weigh them against each other.

      In the end, usually the one that requires the least (note: least, not fewest) assumptions is the one that gets picked. For good reason. When you hear hooves, expect horses, not zebras.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. I Nominate The Homeless by EzInKy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Far too many people can be found wandering around cities at night without places to go, and that leaves them at the mercy of dope dealers and others who are looking to profit from their misery.

    --
    Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    1. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

      They aren't wandering aimlessly. They are looking for dope dealers.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by EzInKy · · Score: 1

      Most of those I've met are happy if you offer them a blanket and/or a meal. Dope is expensive.

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    3. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by EzInKy · · Score: 1

      many of the RICH are far greater risk to your property than refugee's. Sure many of the RICH have simply had a few good breaks or been LUCKY. But a whole fuck load of them a lazy, greedy selfish arseholes that if you hand them anything they will simply use it as an opportunity to take more.

      --
      Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
    4. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Have you tried offering dope?

    5. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      I don't have to worry about the rich. They're not the ones that want to use my property as a flop. They have their own Mc/Mansions to trash.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    6. Re:I Nominate The Homeless by PPH · · Score: 1

      Dope is expensive.

      They don't want to dig into their dope budget for those little luxuries.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  9. who will they find to take that risk? by gravewax · · Score: 1

    there are many people that are in desperate need of help, the problem is identifying the legitimate ones. I would actually trust refugees more than most of the local homeless but even then after seeing what happened to friends I would not want to try the lottery even on refugees. friends helped out a family living in a car by providing them rent at a way way below market rates so they could have a roof over their heads. 6 weeks later the house looked like a garbage dump inside and out and it took another 3 months to finally evict them, all up they estimate their good will cost them in excess of $50k, they won't make that mistake again.

  10. I've been getting screwed over by mega-corps by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    for my entire adult life, so you're forgive me if I'm just a wee bit too cynical not to question the motives of a company at the forefront of the gig economy (who's business model contributes to me being unable to afford to buy a home).

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  11. I didn't even know ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... there was a town called Need.

    I'm willing to help. I'll buy a homeless person a bus ticket there.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  12. Vet them! by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

    "Are you a terrorist?"
    "Yes! Awe, you caught me!!!"
    "Get outta here, you joker."
    "Allahu ackbar!"
    "Yeah, yeah..."

    Sounds nuts? Not as nutty as this fantasy land bullshit. There is a fucking reason we have borders. Because not everyone likes the same thing as everyone else. Isn't that what made it so appealing to all these celebs that said they'd pack up and move if Trump got elected in the first place? Wait, did any of them leave? Fuck no they didn't. Fantasy land bullshitters.

    --
    Chewbacon
    The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    1. Re:Vet them! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I was greeted by a large mob of unemployables that yelled at me to take off my shoes, ripped my bag out of my hands and went through it. Apparently they found nothing they liked 'cause I even got all of my stuff back, but I have seen people who weren't so lucky.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Vet them! by butchersong · · Score: 1

      Never travel through Philadelphia airport when coming from an international flight.

  13. Next part by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    What's the next part of the business plan? As long as you house them and feed them you can make them work 21 hour days for you?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:Next part by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      What's the next part of the business plan? As long as you house them and feed them you can make them work 21 hour days for you?

      That wont work out. Uber generally expects employees to provide their own vehicles.

    2. Re:Next part by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Re Business plan?
      More refugees get allowed in, the more gov funding flows.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    3. Re:Next part by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      So we now get to buy them cars, too?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Next part by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Government funding to do what? Link to someone else's house that they did the work to put there?

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  14. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by stephanruby · · Score: 1

    Then pick from the Shia Muslims, the Christians, the Jews, or the gays, that are fleeing those countries to escape persecution. No one is forcing you to accept Sunni Muslims.

  15. Re: Think Muslims are bad? by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

    They can keep their hands off my goats.

    --
    If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  16. An exemplary comment thread by quax · · Score: 1

    That illustrates to the none-American readers how Trump happened.

    1. Re: An exemplary comment thread by Reverend+Green · · Score: 2

      You mean arrogant elitism, looking down your nose at your countrymen who were driven to destitution by the very system responsible for your own prosperity, and patronizing fetishization of "exotic" foreign cultures and peoples? Yeah, that attitude among the bourgeoisie does tend to enrage the plebs.

    2. Re:An exemplary comment thread by OhPlz · · Score: 1

      Yes, we don't want barbarian invaders destroying our communities. Shocking. If you want to live with endless terror attacks, head over to London or Paris.

    3. Re: An exemplary comment thread by quax · · Score: 1

      Totally makes sense then to vote for a billionaire, at least with him you can be totally sure about his attitude towards the plebs. No surprises.

      Pretty much the entire Trump presidency so far goes as was to be expected.

      I guess if you feel you're in the shitter voting for a shit show has a certain perverse logic to it. Won't help you, but at least you get to piss off a lot of people.

      Since I get to observe this form a distance I must admit it is entertaining. Trump always amused me.

  17. Wow, super idea!!! by bradley13 · · Score: 1

    I'm very serious: what a great idea!

    I'm so tired of the progressive crowd saying "let's you take in a few million refugees", but somehow never in their neighborhoods. So this is the chance for the progressives to put their guest rooms where their mouths are.

    I hope that this is done fairly, i.e., Airbnb doesn't just front for housing that was already designated for refugees. If so, then we will see just how many liberals really practice what they preach.

    I predict that the offers of rooms will be very sparse, but I am willing to be proven wrong.

    --
    Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
    1. Re:Wow, super idea!!! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The problem is that both ends of the political spectrum are full-bore for the influx of foreigners. The bleeding heart lefties because of the poor, poor war victims, the cold blooded right wingers for the cheap, expendable labor and the increased pressure on the wages they represent.

      We're fucked.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  18. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by war4peace · · Score: 1

    How exactly are you going to tell them apart except for trusting they are who/what they say they are?
    Also telling them apart and filtering based on religion beliefs is grounds for discrimination and a nice lawsuit thrown your way. Either way, you lose.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  19. No thanks by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    I don't want Jihadi's in my house. They will not be grateful, and may kill you.

  20. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    You want us to pay for the door the SWAT broke down and the bullet holes in the wall? Think again. And before you do, be grateful that we're so gracious as to not charge you with housing terror suspects!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  21. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Umm... how do you identify a gay, Jewish Christian Shia Muslim? People rarely have that stamped to their forehead. And ... well, you might be new to this world, and this might be hard to swallow, but people lie to get what they want.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  22. Re: refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Really? Wow, where does this happen? I mean, outside your mind (where you obviously also are).

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  23. Re:For those who forgot by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Since a fair lot happened on this day, from segregation being sanctioned by a court decision to the Swedish-Norwegian union ending to making contraceptives illegal becoming illegal to The Artist formerly known as Prince being born, you might want to inform us just what world-changing event made his day infamous.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  24. Re: Think Muslims are bad? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Hah! Joke's on them, my goats love getting fucked!

    Erh... or so I ... imagine...

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  25. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by butchersong · · Score: 1

    Good luck with that. Assyrian Christians and Yezidis are basically victims of genocide at this point but Trudeau and the liberal party in Canada have taken the opposite approach from the previous administration and reversed course on accepting them.

  26. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by butchersong · · Score: 1

    Apologies for replying to my own thread but I do have to acknowledge that that US position on this to this point (not sure in 2017) has actually been worse. Ban on non-Muslims: http://www.newsweek.com/us-bar...

  27. Re:refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    Haven't you heard? Focusing on the Syrians that would actually qualify for genuine political refugee status is a violation of the Establishment clause.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  28. Re: refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by stdarg · · Score: 1

    Another one: https://www.jihadwatch.org/201...

  29. How generous... by ShamblerBishop · · Score: 1

    Now all the people AirBnB have indirectly made homeless through local rents being jacked up, by AirBnB making it easy to illegally convert rentals into short-term-lets, will be able to rely on the charity of the greedy people who have exploited this opportunity in the first place. Great plan, guys - nothing cynical in this PR move at all.

  30. Re: refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    And he was sentenced to housing Muslims in his home and let them behead his children? Now that's what I call cruel and unusual punishment!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  31. Re: refugees so I can be an accessory to ISIS with by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Ah, those. Yes, if you're renting from the city and they find it more useful to give the flat to someone else, you get evicted. The solution is to rent from a private owner. Yes, this is a bit more expensive and you might have a hard time financing a 1000 sqft flat in the middle of the town as a single tenant on retirement money, but at least they can't simply kick you out as they please.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.