AirBNB must know who they are as those scammers are getting paid, right? It would be expensive for AirBNB (they would certainly lose money) but it can't cost more than the revenue they lose when people read articles like this?
Airbnb is basically built on shifting liability to shifty people running hotels out of rentals.
Also, pro tip, I’d guess at least 50% of the airbnbs I’ve stayed in do not wash the sheets in a washer (I’ve literally physically observed at least one host lint-roll follow by a spray of fabric freshener).
That being said I still use them to lower my own standards and prices below hotels, but I know what I’m getting into at least.
Tokyo has a similar registration requirement as SF now, and even in Taiwan I almost always have to identify myself as a relative of the host.
It happens at hotels, too, and it's why I always take the sheets off of the bed when I check out. Putting the sheets on is the worst part of making the bed but taking them off takes two seconds. My hypothesis: if lazy hosts/housekeeping are forced to go through the trouble of putting sheets on then they might as well use a clean set. And if the host/housekeeper was going to change the sheets anyway then maybe I've made their job just a little bit easier.
I even have a friend who owns one flat, AirBNB's it, and rents another flat of about equal quality. In his case it's legal and a kind of interesting way to work the market; however it is ruinous to the rental market for locals.
I'm about to stay in one in Asia that very much seems to be a place someone lives about 1/3 of the time, and the rest of the time they rent it out. Apparently this is allowed there, but I'm curious what the vibe will be in a big luxury apartment building with many AirBNB listings.
I also agree that the AirBNB business model is impossible without shifting liability, but it seems like in many cases you're not so much shifting as removing it. Hotels are subject to all sorts of laws to ensure the safety of guests; these laws have developed over time and usually as the result of bad things happening; outside of maybe the US, nobody is kidding themselves that there is any meaningful liability on the part of a flat owner.
Take the number of listings, A, multiply by the small proportion of scam listings, B, multiply by the average refund we post, C. A times B times C equals X. If X ... well, who cares about X, it doesn't matter - people will still book with us anyway.
Airbnb should be held responsible via law, not via the expectation that they care about their image. As long as it’s the Airbnb website or app and they are getting a commission, shrugging off issues like this should not be legal.
Negligently allowing fraud on your platform and taking a cut of the proceeds should make you an accomplice and get you criminally investigated.