@Inna22 @Sarah977 @Airbnb
Rehousing evicted guests has been standard policy for years, and is an absolute scandal that's going to explode in Airbnb's face one of these days - probably sooner rather than later - and sadly, will undoubtedly come as a result of yet another round of senseless tragedies. I've had several hosts tell me that after their homes were trashed and neighbours terrorised by marauding party-animal guests (who Airbnb had called the host and expressly asked them to house), they later discovered that the guests had been thrown out by their original hosts - but Airbnb had neglected to inform them of the guests' eviction status, citing "last minute cancellation by host" instead). That's gross negligence and failure to a uphold a duty of care to both service users and providers, right there. Not to mention the moral and ethical bankruptcy of it all..
The casual cynical disregard this company continues to display for the safety and security of hosts, guests and neighbours alike, is utterly gobsmacking to behold. Playing the responsible adult all over the media with their "zero tolerance" and "we'll instantly remove bad actors" bullsh*t, while at the very same time, acting like a feckless delinquent adolescent behind the scenes, deceptively and surreptitiously enabling and facilitating known rule-breakers/troublemakers/criminals to infiltrate host homes - regardless of the potential consequences to life or limb - is, in high definition, the exact MO of this company. Street angel, house devil.
Unfortunately, many hosts still flatly refuse to countenance the mountain of evidence to confirm that Airbnb is routinely engaged in such duplicity and skullduggery, and rush to the company's defense every time, with their "Oh Airbnb's been wonderful to me, and the **bleep** hasn't landed on my doorstep yet, so I'm just gonna quickly turn a blind eye to all that abusive and exploitative treatment of my fellow hosts over there". And therein lies the crux of the matter, and the crucial factor that enables Airbnb to continue getting away with all that they get away with, and become ever-more controlling and oppressive - everyone's too busy covering their own arses and looking out for heir own individualistic interests, to stand together and fight for fair, just and equitable treatment for all.
The truth is though - if you're a host with less than 50-100 listings on the platform now, Airbnb doesn't give a flying fig about you either - they want you gone. You're way too high maintenance, for way too low a return. (..and let's face it, despite all the risible "valued host community" rhetoric, their contempt and disdain for their small, independent hosts is abundantly clear, as evidenced by the raft of biased, discriminatory and skewed policies they hamstring us with on a daily basis) Only problem is though, whether they like it or not, they're kinda stuck with us now, if only until immediately after the big boys cash out on IPO day - they're selling their brand image on us and using us as a Trojan horse in their regulatory battles worldwide, so they have no other option but to suffer us for now.
Meanwhile, they're attempting to pawn us (and the general public) off with self-serving global media announcements on all these ground-breaking new safety initiatives they've supposedly introduced, with immediate effect, (in reality - re-hashed policy after re-hashed policy, almost all of it, stuff they told us they were already doing to "protect" us, and keep our communities safe). We've been bombarded with rambling, convoluted Airbnb-speak emails and endless same-same CC threads from them for at least a month now (on which they subsequently neglect to engage or directly address various questions from confused members seeking clarification) - and we're still none the wiser as to exactly what actions the company is taking to halt the scourge of anti-social, criminal and scamming guests (and hosts) on its platform. In true Airbnb fashion, it's all so very vague, isn't it?
What we do know for sure - and the irrefutable evidence is all over every Airbnb- and STR-related blog, group and forum on the internet, in posts just like Inna's, from pissed-off hosts who continue to bear the brunt of Airbnb's failed and abusive policies, in relation to scamming and partying guests - is that, in the almost 2 months since the Orinda tragedies and the Vice scamming article, precisely nothing has changed. No improvements or changes of any substance whatsoever have been made. None.
Hosts are no more safe or protected now than they ever were, and farcically, the only real efforts we've seen Airbnb put into anything at all since their crisis control campaign kicked off, has been in verifying small, independent hosts - many of whom are long-term hosts with exemplary track records, who had already been ID Verified by the company anyway. Right. Because your regular homesharer/small host is the exact demographic most likely to be involved in shooting guests, running illegal Airbnb empires out of a lock-up down some back-street alley, or hitting the 'net and organising a monster Airbnb mansion rave-up for 300 of their closest paying friends, aren't they?? A blatant smoke and mirrors exercise, if ever there was one.
All this fancy super-duper new AI risk-assessment and prevention technology that Airbnb has been at great pains to assure us will weed out the rogues and villains, really doesn't appear to be doing the job it was (allegedly) designed for. And again, its hosts who are being forced to suffer the consequences of the company's clear and open policy of putting the spoils of their sugar daddy investors, over and above the safety and security of hosts, guests, and the communities in which they operate, alike. Every d*mn time.
Stay safe tonight, everyone. Take whatever steps necessary to protect yourselves and your homes, because you can never rely on Airbnb to have your back in a true emergency, and if it all goes t*ts up, you're most likely on your own. So always have your own safety measures and contingency plans in place, just in case. And let's hope we won't all be reading news of even more senseless fatalities at Airbnb parties, by morning.
***Journos and reporters... are you taking note?? Airbnb's certainly not hearing us, but it's very clear that you guys are listening now, and that can only be a good thing. Regardless of whatever disingenuous, gung-ho, trippy PR nonsense you're been fed by the company's slick and powerful publicity machine... the hundreds of thousands of distressed and exasperated comments from shafted, cheated and demoralised hosts (and guests) that you can access here in the Community Centre and across all social media, are only the tip of the iceberg. They are, however, a genuine and authentic snapshot of the real truth of the abusive, exploitative and downright unsafe policies and practices that Airbnb is still compelling its hosts to operate under, solely for the further enrichment of their mega-wealthy VC backers (a full two months after their grandstanding "party house ban" global media announcements, and on New Year's Eve too - the most dangerous, most risky, most stressful hosting night of the year). Keep looking. Keep digging. Keep reporting. Plenty to see here.
