It was really interesting because they told me that they tried contact the owner and he didn't respond -- which the employee remarked was pretty common. Still, they continued to list his property.
I support more regulation.
I assume other people get screwed and have to waste a lot of time too.
I've stayed in more than 10 apartments in a bunch of different countries, but this negative experience made me fearful of using it in a foreign country again. I wasted an entire afternoon during my vacation and countless hours after.
If the place didn't meet building codes so you were likely to fall off of stairs without a railing, file a complaint with the city.
If you actually fell off the stairs and hurt yourself, file a lawsuit against the owner. He'll make a claim against his insurance, and probably will have higher premiums.
If it was a shared unit and there were other dangerous tenants(ex-felons or sex offenders), then maybe Airbnb could screen people better or at least make it an option on the listing. I think somebody is required to disclose this fact to you(either the felon or the owner), or else they're liable.
If it was unsafe in a way that wasn't illegal, then there's not really an Airbnb-specific problem. You wouldn't sue the local newspaper for listing an apartment that ended up unsafe, you would sue the landlord. It's unclear why the rental being short-term would or the choice of listing venue would change that. And it's not like Airbnb loses legal rights just because they're larger than the local newspaper, or incorporated, or accepted VC money.
It's not at all obvious to me that companies should be liable for the contents of reviews from their customers, even those that they have reason to believe are false.
I've been a guest and a host for airbnb but I have been treated awfully by airbnb which is sad because I like the service and the past two years I have spent 80+ nights in hotels/airbnbs.