Taxi drivers bad-mouthing neighborhood - Mention it or not?

[Michele39]

Taxi drivers here in New Orleans are starting to feel threatened by Uber, so they pull this little trick. When they drive someone to my neighborhood from the airport (Uber isn't allowed to pick up at the airport), the driver tells the guests that "this is a dangerous neighborhood" and they shouldn't walk around, and they give the guests a personal card with a number they can call anytime they need a ride. It's a trick to get more business!

This puts a pall on the guest's trip with the uneasy feeling that the location is not safe.

New Orleans has a lot of interesting yet safe neighborhoods, mine included. Most of my guests use Uber after the initial visit, and Uber drivers never seem to think my neighborhood is dangerous. In fact, statistically speaking, my neighborhood is safer than the French Quarter, which is where everyone goes the minute they get here.

I've been getting around this "your neighborhood is dangerous" thing by offering to pick up guests at the airport (thus avoiding the conversation with the taxi driver altogether), but this is getting kind of old. (Airport is 25 minutes away) Question is, would you recommend I mention in the listing about this taxi driver trick? Or maybe just with guests that have booked, who have said they are taking a taxi?

Another option is to offer airport pickup for a fee that is less than the taxi. I wouldn't mind so much if guests would pop me a tenner or something when I do the pickup. The first few guests did this, the rest have not done that since then. 

Thoughts?

[Maria-Lurdes0]

I thought this happened only in my neighborhood!  So it's a classic taxi driver trick I guess.   It hasn't happened so often to me, but I think if it was constant then I would absolutely mention it to my guests in advance, but not in the description.  Maybe you can add that info in the house manual or the directions, which guests can see after they book.   I think that if you say something like "Recently taxi drivers have been using this trick so I wanted to warn you in advance.  I'm happy to organize private car pickup at the airport for X dollars".  I offer airport pickup and quite a few guests take us up on it.  The bonus is that we can control the arrival, and not have groups of people with suitcases hanging around our door trying to get in.....

[Michele39]

It's totally a classic trick. One pair of guests that it happened to just laughed, because taxi drivers in Boston (where they live) have said this to them when driving them to their own home!

Thanks for the suggestion. I will offer a ride for $X. I do like the controlled arrival as well, especially when they arrive after dark. 

[Michele39]

And I'll mention it to booked guests as well, without promising safety. Great advice, thanks!

[Clare0]

@Michele39 and @Maria-Lurdes0  You can say in a message to confirmed guests something to the effect that the taxi drivers are in competition with Uber drivers and might say something derrogative about the neighborhood.  Don't go into detail about how safe your area is because, should something happen (God forbid!) you don't want your words to come back to haunt you. 

[Byron2]

This has been happening since long before Uber came to town. I've been hearing this from guests since I started hosting over two years ago. I just put a comment in the description of my listing letting people know that taxi drivers tell tourists that every neighborhood is unsafe to walk in to increase thier business and to just ignore them. And telling them the neighborhood is unsafe doesn't mean they'll call a cab. They could just as easily use Uber.

Regarding controling guest arrivals, I put Kwikset touchpad locks on my doors and just send the guest a code on the day of (or night before) their arrival. If I can be home to meet them, I am, but if I can't be or don't want to be (late night arrivals), it's nice to just know that they can get in without me and I don't have to worry about them standing in front of the place with their bags.

[Shannon187]

Wow. I'm so glad you posted this. I've been furious with an Uber driver who did the same thing with my guests! He basically said that they were staying in "gangland" and to call him anytime they need a ride. He cashed in big time. I'm a 5 minute walk from the BART station here in Oakland. I want to alert Airbnb to this because these drivers are just perpetuating myths about Oakland being dangerous. I mean, all cities are dangerous to some degree but my neighborhood is a working class, family oriented neighborhood that has made a lot of progress with regards to crime. You look at a crime map and there are far more crimes/thefts in areas that are more affluent. I live in a predominantly brown, working class neighborhood and I figured this was just racism/classism and now I'm even more angry that this guy was just trying to cash in on people's fears (and dare I say...potentially...racism, classism). I don't live in the prettiest part of town but it's no "gangland". I wish these drivers from the burbs would stop coming to "the city" and stirring crap up for a profit. Awful. Does Airbnb know about this?