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Comment by stuaxo | Hacker News Reader

Most of the big web companies are A North American and have the prudishness that goes with that. For all the talk of inclusion this sort of thing shows how it's hollow.

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I'm guessing this has nothing to do with prudishness and everything to do with people putting their places and Airbnb and finding out porn was shot at their place and it's now a hazmat site.

I'm super curious how shooting porn would make a place any more unsanitary than a normal couple staying somewhere and having sex. If anything, porn stars ought to be safer and cleaner - they are regularly tested and porn shoots won't be anywhere near as messy as regular sex between two normal people.

The only angle I can understand is having your apartment in a porn movie, which is unacceptable because you rent it out for people to stay in, not draw commercial profit from it through film production. But calling a porn shoot a "hazmat site"? Nope, don't agree here at all.

Ten years ago (pre-AirBnB), a renter used my house as a porn studio. We found out when a friend sent us a link to a dvd's trailer, saying "this may look familiar". Opening scene was in our shower, then bed, then couch, then a group scene on the kitchen worktop, of all places.

While this was disturbing at first, the 'ick' feeling quickly went away and we could see the funny side of it.

What really hurt was the renter skipped out leaving two months' unpaid rent, plus sky high heating bills (needed to keep the apartment warm enough for naked actors, apparently...)

This got more upvotes than any of my technical HN comments. Proving the adage that sex sells!

P.S. I thought about including the link to the online trailer. But I'd probably end up banned. It's definitely NSFW.

I think assuming porn production is intrinsically 'dirty' in a way that, say, a cocktail party with 20 ppl wouldn't be is exactly the sort of prudishness you're claiming is irrelevant here.

Hell, a family with three kids and a gallon of ice cream seems more likely to create an obscene mess than all but the most avant garde of porn (though I don't have kids and have never made a porn, so this is speculation)

So you’re telling me if you were renting out your house for $100/night, you would be OK with a porn crew filming scenes in your bed/rooms in an effort to skirt the system (of porn companies paying thousands per day per location) instead of renting to a family of 4? Seems highly unlikely and those homeowners have every right to ensure a covert porn scene is not shot in their homes.

Me personally? Yes. It doesn't matter to me if the people being intimate on my bed while I am away are married or porn stars. I am planning on washing the sheets just as thoroughly either ways.

My point wasn't that I'd be a-ok in the homeowner's shoes.

I'd be pretty pissed off if people rented my place for any business purposes under the guise of tourists.

...Newman.

I would be somewhat annoyed, but I don't think much can be done about that. Turning away porn actors probably isn't an effective way.

Are you missing the taxes they would have paid?

How would it be worse than if they filmed a snuff movie there? Or a commercial for a cause the host vehemently disagrees with?

I could see a point if they were banning accounts that use rented paces for commercial activity, assuming it were against the rules. But banning people for work they do is going a big too far. Although not unexpected from SV's "world-changing" hucksters.

porn was shot at their place and it's now a hazmat site

That is a ridiculous statement. What about "regular" couples having sex in an AirBnB? Or only pornstars have sex?

It was a hazmat site whether there was porn shot there or not.

Porn happens, with or without the camera. Its called sex.

A lot of us have it at AirBnB precisely because thats the point.

Amen. Maybe Airbnb should mention that a) normal rental agreement doesn't permit porn production.

b)and if a residence is used for porn that the host and Airbnb gets a share of revenue - separate contract.

AirBNB as a company simply disgusts me.

So after forcing every user on their platform to agree to a "Non discrimination policy" pop up window which feels pretty weird and accusatory - I mean i'm trying to book a villa on a beach, what does my opinion of other people have to do with anything? Take my fucking credit card, make the booking, and my thoughts and opinions are none of your damn business.

What's next, all their male users must be forced to attend online "how not to rape" classes to be able to make a booking?

So here we are - Airbnb caught with their pants down being absolute hypocrites. Turning away a user because of her chosen career in the sex industry. How is that not discrimination?

I think it's time AirBnb got out of the ideology politics game and just ran a damn booking service.

They are a typical SF company -- lots of posturing and virtue signaling while screwing people and entire communities over.

But ofcourse it’s less ok to screw people the natural way than the money way...

For all of the SFBA's supposed progressiveness, in the end they are still almost as prude as the rest of the US...

Not for nothing, but most companies beside following applicable laws, typically also follow the mores of the people they serve --so they will bend to this or that public pressure, irrespective of whether it's the right thing to do, from a perspective of justice.

In some cases it means they do the right thing (avoiding prejudice, other times it means that same pressure results in a different prejudice, as evidenced here). But again, I'm not sure I'd want to rent out my property to people using it as a stage location, unless remuneration was commensurate with what they are doing.

But the person in question was just using Airbnb for trips, never for shooting anything. Airbnb had no evidence that she was anything but a normal user, other than Google stalking and finding out her occupation.

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