Airbnb has created a 24/7 customer support hotline recently, after two users of the service became the victims of vandalism and theft. The company is also offering a $50,000 insurance policy to people who open up their homes to strangers through the Airbnb service, and have bad things happen as a result.
Would you let a complete stranger stay in your home while you are away? I think most of us would consider that idea to be an incredibly bad one. This is basically what you are doing if you sign up as a “host” through Airbnb. The company connects travelers who are looking for a nice place to stay that is within their price range with people who live in that location and who will not be home for a few days, weeks, or longer.
Basically, it works like this. Let’s say you know that you will be traveling to Chicago in a few months. You can use Airbnb to locate homes, or spare rooms, that homeowners who live in Chicago are willing to temporarily rent out for a night, or a weekend, or longer. You can see how much the person wants to charge for you to stay there. You, the traveler, could end up staying in a very nice, homelike, place, for less money than it would cost to stay at a hotel.
Homeowners, (or people who are renting an apartment), can choose to list their place on Airbnb. You select the timeframe you want to rent for, and how much you want to charge per night. You are able to make a list of “house rules”. The person who comes to stay at your home, or in your spare room, pays Airbnb, who then pays you, (after taking their cut of the transaction).
What could possibly go wrong? Lots of things, apparently. A blogger from San Francisco, who is using the name E.J., used Airbnb in June of 2011. She made arrangements through Airbnb to have a stranger rent her apartment. When she returned, she discovered that the renter trashed her home, and stole some of her valuables (including jewelry, electronics, cash, and other things).
Being a blogger, she posted something about his experience on her blog, referring to what happened as a “nightmare” of a situation. Another person who used Airbnb to rent his home, Troy Dayton, said he returned to his home to find it had been vandalized, and that there were “meth pipes everywhere”.
As a result of these extremely unfortunate situations, Airbnb has created its $50,000 Airbnb Guarantee, which will start on August 15, 2011. The company will provide $50,000 in insurance for any loss or damages that happen at the property of an Airbnb “host” by a person who made the reservation to stay there through the Airbnb website. They also are launching a 24/7 hotline where users of the service can reach the company to report problems, and to complain about other users who caused them problems.
Image by Glen Scarborough on Flickr