@Sharon1014
Well if you thought that was spin to the nth degree, wait until you see this one..
Margaret Richardson, former Airbnb of Trust (departed the company last month), being interviewed by Sean O'Neill at the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit, just 5 weeks after the Orinda tragedies and Vice 'scamming hosts' scandal last Halloween, about how Airbnb could possibly go about restoring trust in its business and operations, and about whether or not there was actually any substance in their proposed policy changes, or if it was all just pre-IPO window-dressing.
This one covers a lot in 15 mins - from the listing verification plans, to why Airbnb is still failing to make it clear to searching guests if a listing is offered by an 'amateur' or a 'professional' host, to Airbnb's unique take on taxes and legal compliance. Pure comedy gold.
Some of the classic quotes..
Re the apparent reluctance to properly categorise hosts/listings -
"Umm.. we allow people to search by amenities, such as balconies and views.. We want to make sure people don't miss out on this remarkable experience because what you thought you wanted, is not presented to you. We continue to seek to innovate around the matching of expectations, but we also seek to inspire people to take that next step beyond.. "
(Here's a radical idea... why not just show people what they're actually searching for, instead of what Airbnb decides they should be searching for?)
"The other thing we've done is sought to pay taxes. There isn't a lot of companies in this day and age that say" Please tax us! "
Right. That'll be why Airbnb chose Dublin as the home of its non-US HQ and why the vast majority of its global business (outside US and China) is channeled through Airbnb Ireland UC, to take full advantage of Ireland's shameful 'double-Irish' tax avoidance and corporate welfare scheme then.
"Sometimes the laws and rules are not in keeping with companies' innovations"
No comment necessary 🙄
Watch "Airbnb VP of Trust at Skift Short-Term Rental Summit 2019" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/ZtyDgL305pM
Penelope