Airbnb Makes Big Promises It Fails To Keep
We’re calling out Airbnb and its CEO, Brian Chesky, for making “hollow and broken” promises in addressing Airbnb “party houses” and safety issues after more than 40 people have been shot at Airbnb rentals over the last six months across the country with 20 of the victims being killed.
Airbnb’s Broken Promises
Too Little, Too Late “Safety Initiative”
After multiple deaths at a tragic Halloween shooting, Airbnb released a new safety initiative.
Two days later, 55 shots were fired at a Portland, Oregon Airbnb rental, leaving one woman hospitalized after suffering injuries.
These safety guidelines are simply too little, too late.
Chesky’s Hollow “100% Verified” Promise
In an interview with New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky promised that the company will “make sure that every single property is reviewed with the intention that 100 percent of things on Airbnb are verified” and that the company would have “a 24/7 neighbor hotline where any neighbor in any town in any part of the world 24/7 can call us.”
However, impacted neighborhood residents, academic experts and even Airbnb hosts have questioned Airbnb’s ability to ban party houses and verify all their seven million listings. Fox Business Network commentators Stuart Varney and Susan Li, have questioned Airbnb’s ability to verify all their listings worldwide and Cheri Young, an assistant professor at the University of Denver pointed out that “Airbnb doesn’t have a security force across the globe.”
“One Host, One Home” About-Face
A “one host, one home” limitation Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky has publicly endorsed in the past has been aggressively opposed by Airbnb in regulatory battles against city governments throughout the U.S.
In fact, Airbnb has fought efforts by local leaders to pass common sense regulations and have even sued city governments to avoid sharing data on their rentals with local law enforcement agencies trying to protect neighborhoods
Brian Chesky continues to make hollow promises that will do nothing to improve the safety of Airbnb’s guests or the neighbors living next to them.
It’s time for city leaders across the country to follow the lead of numerous cities and enact stronger short-term rental regulations.