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Comment by tnjm | Hacker News Reader

I've always had a few issues with Airbnb -- never knowing if the place I've booked actually exists, the hard-to-navigate app and broken login system, and that one time the "host" kidnapped my wife and Airbnb support told her on the phone that if the police broke the door down she'd have to pay for it. (They did; she didn't. We used the eventual compensation credit to book an Airbnb in NYC which turned out to have not only a repossession bill on the front door, but also a condemned building notice.)

But. I did a work trip last month and stayed in apartments with my colleague. Half of the hotels (even airport hotels!) on booking.com wanted damage deposits up to $500, often in cash. So we exclusively used Airbnb and it was... perfect. The places were exactly as described, no bizarre demands, and the access/lockbox instructions and wifi codes were all in-app. The hosts were clearly all pros, and it showed.

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Wowah! Never had those sort of 'adventures' on ABnB, mostly very good experiences, though a few places that weren't ready for for a stay (Recently, one I stayed at had a broken shower... I got some compensation, but ti wasn't my favorite experience to deal with). ABnB is still one of my favorite ways to travel, even with its rough spots.

Is there anywhere I can ready about this ABnB host who kidnapped your wife? I am so glad that she made it out safely! Sounds wild, I would think ABnB would be very concerned with this host, not worried about the damages from a police intervention!

> Is there anywhere I can ready about this ABnB host who kidnapped your wife?

No, we've never spoken publicly of it, though I don't remember her signing anything.

> I am so glad that she made it out safely! Sounds wild, I would think ABnB would be very concerned with this host, not worried about the damages from a police intervention!

That was a bit of a surprise too. In retrospect, it's maddening: the gravity of the situation only dawned on us slowly, and no doubt it could have made someone else wait longer to call the emergency services and then... who knows.

I've had the repossession notice situation (was some apartment building in Seattle and the host had clearly leased out the entire floor and just Airbnb'd the individual units out. He said ignore the eviction notice). Never had anyone kidnap me, thankfully. Can you say what city that happened in? If it weren't for shady hosts trying to just make a quick buck (landlord, but worse), I don't feel like it would be all too bad.

Central London, and a particularly nice bit too. No red flags, until it got all Stephen King.

I have unfortunately learned the hard way to exclusively book with "super hosts" unless the listing is very convincing.

That said, it's a great way to find awesome stays in little, out-of-the-way places (my wife and I rarely vacation in large cities or super touristy areas. It is SO MUCH BETTER than staying in hotels- cleaner, quieter, usually with laundry and a full kitchen, and cheaper than a motel.

If we had little kids it might be a different story- through them in a pool is a great way to tucker them out, and a hot tub is probably the only thing I actually miss.

> kidnapped my wife

So like, what's the full story here?

It's not my story to share the full details, but suffice to say it was wild and makes extremely good dinner party conversation. At the time though, definitely something out of a horror movie.

just a guess from what he said, sounds like she was locked in the apt (what/why she would have to pay for) and that's why the police knocked down the door, and "kidnapping" and/or "involuntarily holding someone (hostage for some material reason?)" might fall under the same law.

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