In the wake of tragic murders at a ‘party house’ rented through Airbnb and a Vice investigation that revealed hosts assuming fake identities to scam users, Airbnb is now starting a campaign to physically check each of the seven million listings on the site.
Brian Chesky, Airbnb founder and CEO, says the check-ups will be complete by December 15, 2020, and that starting December 15, 2019, if the company finds a listing inaccurate, it will rebook any customers who have reserved it in a place of “equal or greater value” or offer a refund. The inaccurate listings will be dropped from Airbnb.
Airbnb isn’t the only one looking; the FBI is also investigating the scams revealed by Vice. The shootings in Orinda, California took place at a party that may have had over 100 attendees, although the rental was for a family of 12; Airbnb says it will now increase the teams that look at “high-risk reservations” to sort out “party houses” but did not explain how it would recognize them.
Also not stated is whether Airbnb will use its checks to remove illegal listings that persist in many cities where the type or duration of rentals is limited. In New York, for instance, many whole-apartment rentals are listed despite a ban, and listings without registration numbers can be found in a number of cities that require them.
Photo: Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO
