Following a string of deaths, shootings, rapes and other serious crimes, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky recently lamented: “All of a sudden it was like a Twitter mob. And there was a hashtag, #RIPAirbnb. All of a sudden I just could not get this out of the cycle.” So, Airbnb would immediately introduce a ban on ‘party houses’, verify its 7 million listings plus use social media to establish the identity of all platform users. Trouble is, everyone from the Kremlin down knows onl

Following a string of deaths, shootings, rapes and other serious crimes, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky recently lamented: “All of a sudden it was like a Twitter mob. And there was a hashtag, #RIPAirbnb. All of a sudden I just could not get this out of the cycle.” So, Airbnb would immediately introduce a ban on ‘party houses’, verify its 7 million listings plus use social media to establish the identity of all platform users. Trouble is, everyone from the Kremlin down knows onl

In the run up to its expected 2020 IPO and in the wake of a mounting, often-murderous crime toll, the Wall Street Journal has detailed how Airbnb employees pushed for more stringent safety measures but were overruled. “After heated debate, other company executives, including co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky, rejected it.” The contents of the WSJ article (pay wall) are sobering. Here is a similar, much less detailed, article. In Australia, Airbnb has sent a carto

In the run up to its expected 2020 IPO and in the wake of a mounting, often-murderous crime toll, the Wall Street Journal has detailed how Airbnb employees pushed for more stringent safety measures but were overruled. “After heated debate, other company executives, including co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky, rejected it.” The contents of the WSJ article (pay wall) are sobering. Here is a similar, much less detailed, article. In Australia, Airbnb has sent a carto

Airbnb has just emailed its landlords and advised that as of 15 December 2019 its Australian/New Zealand platform users may apply to be exempt from paying GST on their ‘host fees’. This applies to Airbnb’s 3% commission but, given Airbnb’s massive turnover, this still represents what some refer to as a major “swindle” on taxpayers and residents. Following yet still more shooting deaths and major incidents at properties, if an Airbnb ‘guest’ or ‘host’ is found to have violate

Airbnb has just emailed its landlords and advised that as of 15 December 2019 its Australian/New Zealand platform users may apply to be exempt from paying GST on their ‘host fees’. This applies to Airbnb’s 3% commission but, given Airbnb’s massive turnover, this still represents what some refer to as a major “swindle” on taxpayers and residents. Following yet still more shooting deaths and major incidents at properties, if an Airbnb ‘guest’ or ‘host’ is found to have violate

Yesterday, Julia Verdouw, fellow at the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania, and Murray Cox from Inside Airbnb, were in conversation with Jonathan Green on ABC Radio’s ‘Blueprint for Living’ program. Their short podcast is here. They spoke of the seemingly innocuous transaction of booking an Airbnb for an overnight or weekend, which effectively empties housing of residents and is leading to a full-blown “housing crisis”. As soon as the ABC’

Yesterday, Julia Verdouw, fellow at the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania, and Murray Cox from Inside Airbnb, were in conversation with Jonathan Green on ABC Radio’s ‘Blueprint for Living’ program. Their short podcast is here. They spoke of the seemingly innocuous transaction of booking an Airbnb for an overnight or weekend, which effectively empties housing of residents and is leading to a full-blown “housing crisis”. As soon as the ABC’

The lead up to Christmas traditionally means a wind down from work and lots of fun parties. Throw an Airbnb party house into the mix and in the US that means a barrage - 55 actually – gunshots fired in a residential street, with one neighbour injured after a bullet crashed through her window. Of course a statement released by Airbnb said: “This senseless violence has no place in our (Airbnb) communities…We have removed the booking guest from our platform and are in touch

The lead up to Christmas traditionally means a wind down from work and lots of fun parties. Throw an Airbnb party house into the mix and in the US that means a barrage - 55 actually – gunshots fired in a residential street, with one neighbour injured after a bullet crashed through her window. Of course a statement released by Airbnb said: “This senseless violence has no place in our (Airbnb) communities…We have removed the booking guest from our platform and are in touch