Airbnb was such a unique and perhaps controversial idea when it began that many wrote it off as too far-fetched. The idea of homeowners renting out their properties and in some cases staying there at the same time conjured up images of huge messes let in their kitchen, broken furniture and potential ill-mannered guests.
However, those images did not end up being reality. Airbnb succeeded and opened up an entirely new sub-industry within hospitality and today it has significantly taken share from traditional hotels and inns. It turns out that short term home (and apartment) rental is good business... and big business.
Recently, however, it was uncovered that the site had some bad actors who posted fraudulent properties and accounts luring customers only to cancel at the last minute and route those customers to low budget and in many cases outright unfit dwellings. Airbnb did not have in place an effective means to verify each homeowner that listed property.
The fraud was detected by media outlet Vice in an expose identifying at least 94 such properties in eight different cities.
Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky addressed the finding in a staff email, “Starting now, verification of all seven million listings on Airbnb will commence.” He continued, “We believe that trust on the Internet begins with verifying the accuracy of the information on Internet platforms, and we believe that this is an important step for our industry.”
Corrective measures are now being taken. When we think about the number of instances actually uncovered it is a small fraction of the overall listings and business activity conducted through the site. As in all industries that experience rapid growth, mishaps will occur, which provide an opportunity for the companies that comprise the industry to improve their operations and make their product or services better for all customers.
