(Korean)AirBnb: host wasn't intentional (though be attempted to rape his guests)
insight.co.kr
insight.co.kr
2. Airbnb did not block the host nor did it tell anyone about the host
3. The host tried to drug-rape his guests again
4. Japanese police found about 'white powder remains in the cup given by the host'
5. Airbnb's 1st reaction: he didn't intend to do it.
6. Airbnb's 2nd reaction: Japanese police said he's ok
7. Airbnb's 3rd reaction: We'll educate the host on the matters
8. Airbnb's 4th reaction: We'll do something about it (...but what?)
I chose HN because I saw some Airbnb founders/employees hanging around, and I'd expect them to solve these kind of issues. Maybe the Korean / Japanese Airbnb customer service is not doing their job/etc...?
I know it's not a popular opinion but some of the laws setup around service industries like hotels, taxis, etc, are for the protection of the user from potentially dangerous providers.
"Ripe for disruption" is just "lots of laws we can ignore"
On the whole, I think society probably benefits from this kind of edge testing. I certainly don't encourage it. And taking on federal or state laws is a different game (legal and moral liability-wise) from challenging municipal codes, particularly when people get hurt.
But Uber challenging the taxi industry forced everyone to take out the rulebook and reconsider what is and isn't truly necessary. Something similar is happening with hotels. One could argue, with Bitcoin et al, too.
These companies can try to claim it's about making things better all they want. It's clearly just about money to them. I learnt that the hard way trying to deal with AirBnB.
Tip: companies "doing the right thing" don't charge your credit card then require you to login with Facebook (which I don't have) or upload a video explaining why I want to rent a house.
But yeah, it is ultimately about the money.
The differences between Uber's and e.g. Taxi's is laughable, when you read accounts from actual Uber drivers like http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-driver-heres-how-we-get-aro...
I don't know the backgrounds and can't judge what happened here, but it seems to me first and foremost rape is something that you'd expect normal law enforcement to handle and not rely on a company to react on it.
i'm sure folks here will say "but he's innocent until proven guilty. what about his airbnb income?" stop putting his concerns above the way more concerning impact of rape. stop putting his words above women's words. most women don't make shit up, just like most men don't kill women.
airbnb should absolutely do more. as we all should.
i hope she left a negative review.
Imagine a taxi company that hired a driver, did background checks, who then is arrested for raping a woman in a taxi. The taxi driver makes bail. Does the taxi company at that point say "Rape is a criminal matter, and it's up to the criminal justice system to adjudicate matters like this, not us" and put him back in a taxi? If they did so, and he raped a second woman, would you argue that the taxi company had absolutely no responsibility, and that it's still the job of the criminal justice system?
Really?
I would imagine that allegations of murders would qualify, as would man slaughter. Clearly armed robbery or any form of crimes that involve bodily harm. Since we are dealing with a imaginary taxi driver, anyone alleged for scamming people seems reasonable that the taxi company end the employment in order to not enabling further crime.
But here come the question: Why would this system be preferred over the existing system of police custody? Is the taxi company more suited to evaluate the risk for further crimes?
"If they did so, and he raped a second woman, would you argue that the taxi company had absolutely no responsibility"
If the police let the person go and they raped a second victim, would you argue that the police had absolutely no responsibility?
When he's out on bail? No, i'd say then the taxi company probably ought to suspend him at least until his trial is over. But if he's acquitted? Or if the police say "no, he's ok"? Ya, they should absolutely put him back in a taxi.
Are you for real?
I know people who are feeling increased pressure to participate in the Airbnb game, so as to not get priced-out by people who are doing so!
It's a race to the bottom.