Another party house story...

Chris2083
Level 2
Medicine Hat, Canada

Another party house story...

Sadly, I awake to this morning’s newscast that another Airbnb location in Surrey, B.C. (Canada) had a shooting incident last night and 30 people are being held for questioning - fortunately there were no fatalities. According to police, they are growing weary of these locations, as they should be!  However, these fiascos are once again grouping all Airbnb hosts as money grabbers and slum lords in the eyes of the public. I think of the countless hours I and other hard working hosts put into their listings. It will take Airbnb much more to clear this image than just making a public statement on cracking down on “these party houses”...

9 Replies 9
Andrea-and-Francis0
Level 10
Mississauga, Canada

I am guessing more problems come with off site hosts & when guests get access to an entire home. Thank goodness we live upstairs with our Airbnb in the basement & have property cameras to try to avoid guests abusing our house rules.

@Andrea-and-Francis0 No cameras here in rural England!- Thankfully our houses are too small for people to get up to mischief when home sharing!

Susan17
Level 10
Dublin, Ireland

@Chris2083 @Andrea-and-Francis0 

 

This is not going to help matters either... 

 

Airbnb Sued, Accused Of Negligence By Man Shot At Toronto House Party

 

Michael Smitiuch, the lawyer who filed the claim, said Airbnb should be more vigilant that homes can be rented for parties which have the potential to turn violent.

 

“There’s far too much focus on making money and far too little on proper policies and procedures to protect the safety of guests,” Smitiuch said in the release.

 

Airbnb responded with a statement that said, “senseless violence reported has no place in the Airbnb community.”

 

“We immediately removed the booking guest from our platform in April. While this listing has not been available on the Airbnb platform since September, hosting is a big responsibility and if we find that hosting activity substantially disrupts a community, we may take action against a listing — including suspension or removal,” the statement added.

 

http://globalnews.ca/news/6233468/airbnb-sued-toronto-house-party-shooting/

 

Press Release

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/toronto-lawsuit-aims-to-make-airbnb-responsible-for-public-saf...

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

So still blaming the host. Of course .

 

 

 

 

Michelle53
Level 10
Chicago, IL

I missed the standard line usually thrown out in these incidents :  "With nearly two million guests checking in to Airbnb listings every night, negative incidents are incredibly rare." 

 

The other standard line usually thrown out:   “We are appalled by the reported behavior and are quickly working with the host to initiate a claim through our $1 Million Host Guarantee."    "Quickly" being a somewhat relative term.   I read the reports from hosts which say that reparations take months, if they ever come at all. 

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

It seems overblown but I am starting to wonder if the lower bookings that people have been reporting is as a result of people perceiving that airbnbs are not safe?  Which would be a direct result of Chesky implying that it was a 'party houses' to blame as opposed to bad, poorly vetted guests. 

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Andrea-and-Francis0 

@Susan17 @Michelle53 @Chris2083 @Mark116 

 

Pick up any newspaper, historic or current and you will see stories about shootings, been happening as long as guns have been in existence.

 

They also happen in Shopping Centres, schools and other places sadly not just Airbnb homes.

 

It's a wider community issue we all need to be mindful of, unfortunately

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

I agree with @Helen427  in that these violent incidents coming from both within the community and from outside the community seem to be increasing.  Air BNB has gained much notoriety so all short term rentals are referred to as Air BNB.  Still I think there is much work to be done regarding both host and guest vetting with responsible hosts being supported by Air BNB.

Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

@Chris2083 , @Helen350 , @Linda108 , @Helen427  & @Mark116 .

The sooner Airbnb follow their own rules and terms of service requirements of the hosts and guests, the sooner dodgy guests and hosts will be removed and putted on the rental platform, by the good guys!

 

It will be very interesting to see how that court case plays out.

Very happy to watch that space, including Chesky’s Twitter Account......