@Denis227
You seem to be labouring under the misconception that we believe for one second that Airbnb will pay the slightest bit of attention to the hundreds/thousands of comments, suggestions, ideas, complaints and (very valid) grievances we post here, and that we somehow think that if we complain often enough, and
loudly enough, that company will suddenly start to treat us with the dignity, courtesy and respect we deserve, and have earned.
Now you and I pretty much had this very conversation, on this very thread, just a few days ago, so I shouldn't really have to explain myself yet again. What I will say is this though - as futile as you believe our efforts to be, I disagree, respectfully, but wholeheartedly.
I've been posting on this forum about the seedier, grubbier side Airbnb, and their abusive and exploitative policies, for almost as long as the CC has existed, and for a very long time, nobody wanted to hear a word I said. To say my opinions (and statements of fact) were unpopular, and unwanted, here, would be an understatement. I've been scorned, sneered at, scolded, ignored, mocked, insulted, blanked, called all sorts of names and told to "go elsewhere if you don't like Airbnb" by the evangelists, more times than I care to remember (and not once, ever, has any admin stepped in to counter or halt any personal attacks on me. Which is cool with me, actually - I don't need anyone else to fight my battles for me. I'm a big girl now)
I'm always been acutely aware that people must have thought, "Why the hell does that crazy b*tch keep posting on here when nobody - especially Airbnb - is passing the slightest bit of heed to what she has to say?" So I'll answer that question now, once and for all.
Firstly, I have never been under any illusion that my comments here - or anyone elses comments - would be taken on board by the company, in any way. I'm not that stupid, Denis! However, I did choose this forum specifically, and deliberately, to air my views, and to post a ton of unsavoury content - invariably, backed up by solid evidence - about Airbnb's shadier practices and dodgier dealings (despite the fact that for the first 2 to 3 years, nobody wanted to hear it, and regardless of the risks and consequences to myself)
The reason I selected the CC, is because this is an open, public forum of over 850000 members, and is viewable and searchable by everyone - hosts, guests, Airbnb, the media, local residents, investors, law enforcement, regulators, policymakers, whoever...
My initial goal (and yes, this was definitely naive), was to raise awareness amongst the host community, of what was really going on behind the scenes in Airbnb-land, in the (vain) hopes that hosts might actually open their eyes, see what's going on right under their noses, recognise the fact while things might be going just tickety-boo for them personally at that particular moment in time, that tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of their fellow hosts were (are) being systematically cheated, mistreated, bullied and abused by the company on an ongoing basis - and that sooner or later, that same abuse and exploitation would come to their own doorsteps too... therefore, it would be in all our best interests to stand together, and to push back against Airbnb's oppressive and tyrannical M.O.
(Admittedly, I scored an epic fail on that one... although it has to be said, the CC no longer bears any resemblance to the evangelist stronghold it once was. Far from it, actually)
However... I don't believe that the 1500+ posts I've contributed here over the past 4 years, were a waste of my time and efforts at all. While the vast majority of hosts - sadly - may still be too wary or too scared of responding to controversial comments such as mine on this particular forum, for fear of reprisals and repercussions (note how many abandoned this thread as soon as Laura showed her face), I know that my voice - our voices - are being heard far and wide now, by those who are taking what I - and others - have posted here, and amplifying it to a much wider, much greater audience.
It's no fabrication that the global media is scouring these boards day in, day out, and reaching out to hosts for further comment, both here and elsewhere (and I'm certain Airbnb knows it too - I'm under no illusions that my Private Message Inbox on the CC, is actually private at all) To the best of my knowledge, at least two of my threads on here have been the basis for in-depth media investigations that caused quite a stir when they aired, and several others have also been referenced in recent online articles and reports. And while I have my own reasons - and my own plans - for not working directly with journos and reporters right now, I'm more than happy for them to use anything and everything I've posted in the CC for their stories and exposés. Open source content, and all that..
All this talk of talking Airbnb to court is irrelevant, really (for now, anyway). As you pointed out, court proceedings can be exasperatingly long and drawn out, and go on for years, especially when the ones being sued have unlimited power, and unlimited resources to defend their position, however nefarious it may be.
With the IPO now firmly on the horizon though, time is of the essence - Jeff Bezos and the rest of Airbnb's obscenely rich sugar daddies will be looking for a cash-out bonanza on IPO day, and in order for that to happen, armies of gullible, innocent mom and pop investors will be clamouring to sink their hard-earned savings and nest-eggs into what they erroneously see as a sure-fire investment in a rock-solid, noble, ethical, fuzzy-warm company.
To me, that would be a complete and utter travesty - and one of the most monumental cons of the century so far - because there's not a shred of doubt in my mind that the whole ugly, rotten, stinking house of cards that is Airbnb, will come crashing down, just as soon as the big boys have cashed out their chips, and banked their loot. And over my dead body will I stand by and watch that happen, without doing everything in my power to at least try to warn people that pouring their rainy-day funds into Airbnb, is absolutely not a gamble they should be taking.
And you know, Denis, the court of public opinion can be a whole lot quicker - and deadlier - than the courts of law. There's always more than one way to skin a cat. So what you may see as us regular posters/dissenters screaming into the abyss here in the CC, I see as something very, very different. And if my voice is being shut down in the CC now - as appears to be the case - that's absolutely fine by me - my work here is almost done anyway, as they say. Unless Airbnb chooses to delete every one of my 1500+ posts (which let's face it, would look rather sketchy at this point), my posts will continue to serve as a warning, and raise red flags about this despicable company, for a long time to come. So as far as I'm concerned - that part of my mission, accomplished.
Besides, as I've said many times before - I've been extremely restricted in what I could and couldn't say here, that would make it past the censorship scissors. I'll have no such constraints and restrictions when I open up my files, records and years of research to a much wider audience, as I'm in the process of doing, and have been preparing for, for some time now.
Maybe my revelations will have an impact, maybe they won't, but if the widespread outraged reaction to the Vice article (on a single issue I've already been highlighting for years) is anything to go by, the nuggets I have yet to drop - and more importantly, all the dots I can connect - will certainly cause more than a few shockwaves through the company's brand image and reputation. And hopefully, make a few people who do have the power to force Airbnb to curb their nasty, duplicitous ways, start taking a much, much closer look at what's really going on behind the smoke and mirrors that the company have hitheto been so cunningly and successfully been hiding behind. That's always been my ultimate goal, as impossible as it seemed at times. Now though, that impossible goal finally seems very much within reach..
