Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced in a succession of tweets Saturday that the company would ban “party houses” and said the company “must do better, and we will” in preventing pop-up party scenarios from occurring in future.
Chesky, referring directly to the Halloween Night mass shooting at an Airbnb rental in Orinda which left five people dead, announced creation of a “rapid response team” whose goal it would be to search out and prevent unauthorized parties and to ban abusive hosts and guests.
Chesky’s tweets, sent out Saturday morning, in order:
- What happened on Thursday night in Orinda, CA was horrible. I feel for the families and neighbors impacted by this tragedy – we are working to support them.
- Starting today, we are banning “party houses” and we are redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda. Here is what we are doing:
- First, we are expanding manual screening of high-risk reservations flagged by our risk detection technology.
- Second, we are creating a dedicated “party house” rapid response team.
- Third, we are taking immediate action against users who violate these enhanced guest policies, including removal.
- I have directed Margaret Richardson from our Executive Team to oversee this new team and initiate a 10 day sprint to review and accelerate the development and implementation of these new safety initiatives.
- We must do better, and we will. This is unacceptable.
Sheriff’s deputies called to a home at 114 Lucile Way Halloween night were met by upwards of 100 party-goers fleeing a mass shooting inside the residence, scene of a Halloween party advertised widely on social media.
Officers found three people dead at the scene. A fourth died later in the evening and a fifth died in a local hospital Friday night. The shooting has rocked Orinda and prompted calls of a ban on Airbnb properties within city limits. The city has previously addressed the issue of maintaining such properties and drafted guidelines for homeowners offering their residences for lease on a short-term basis.
Thursday’s shooting victims were identified as 22-year-old Tiyon Farley of Antioch, 24-year-old Omar Taylor of Pittsburg, 23-year-old Ramon Hill Jr. of San Francisco/Oakland and 29-year-old Javin County of Sausalito/Richmond, and 19-year-old Oshiana Tompkins of Vallejo/Hercules.
Several other partygoers suffered broken bones and other injuries incurred while escaping from the residence after the shooting broke out. Two guns were subsequently found inside the home though there has been no word if either or both were used in the shooting. No arrests have been made as of Saturday afternoon.
There’s more they can and should do. Well-written article on vice.com about AirBnB- scams and the poor way AirBnB deals with them
I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb http://flip.it/Sju2Mr
This sounds good on paper, but it will do absolutely no good. He knows darn well that Airbnb is highly unregulated, and they have a terrible track record of taking care of business. He’s trying to make himself look good so he doesn’t lose any money. He’s worth billions, and he still rents out his own home. A dedicated “party house” rapid response team? Does he think he’s on SNL?
eBay has scammers. Amazon has scammers. Craigslist has even more scammers. Sellers run scams. Buyers run scams.
There will never be a scam-free website connecting buyers with sellers.
Agree. The article about AirBnB goes deep into how it could change their policy to avoid these scans. It also criticizes AirBnB for ignoring repeated requests for help and information over a 2 year period. It’s a good read; check it out.
SF CHRONICLE
“Orinda grieves over Halloween shooting, councilman calls for ban on Orinda Airbnb Rentals.”
It’s time for the Orinda Town Council to take into consideration the entire town of Orinda. Not just the Airbnb hosts or guests. Airbnb might be beneficial to “some” but it’s to the detriment of the neighbors as well as the entire community. This tragedy was avoidable, had Orinda banned short-term rentals after the tragedy on Camino Encinas. Sadly, they chose not to.
Airbnb is not bringing money into our community. A lot of these guests are cooking in the kitchen of the home they’re renting because they don’t want to spend money at local restaurants, including tip.
You have one opportunity to make the “right” decision. Choose “wisely.”
“A lot of these guests are cooking in the kitchen of the home they’re renting because they don’t want to spend money at local restaurants, including tip.”
LOL. Do a lot of cooking when you travel, do you?
I understand that Airbnb is a penny pinchers best friend. We’ve never used Airbnb, but please enjoy your “savings.” And please donate the proceeds to anyone but “Big Bob.”
It is readily apparent that some among the critics have never rented an Airbnb yurt or treehouse or houseboat or travelled much beyond the local environs without the accoutrements of a luxury hotel. It is a particularly anti-capitalist point of view to suggest that luxury hotels and economy hotels (for the less fortunate capitalists among us) are the only alternatives available to us, we who like to travel because we like to experience new things. Things outside of a luxury hotel and the English speaking luxury hotel staff. Roughly half of my Airbnb rentals have been abroad, whole apartments, in the heart of cultural centers, all the while paying local taxes and cleaning fees to maintain the sound basis of the business model. Whatever the drawbacks, these rentals inject cash into the local economies! The vehement protests that I am reading are based upon ignorance of what the company actually does for the travelling public ON A VERY LARGE SCALE. I suspect that Airbnb can do better just as I expect that motel/hotel chains that experience violence and theft and fraud can do better. Work the problem and ignore this hysteria.
You’re callous, and you’re hiding behind a screen name David. Families and friends of the deceased are grieving, Orindans (and Lamorindans with a heart) are horrified by the tragedy, and all you care about is your Airbnb travels? Do you really think this is a good time to be promoting Airbnb? What the heck is wrong with you?
David and Danielle are both screen names
Airbnb is now saying they’re launching a “neighbor hotline.” The neighbors are the REAL victims in any Airbnb gone bad situation. They’re INNOCENT victims. And what happened on Lucille could happen to anyone in the country. Or the world. And Airbnb guests and hosts are too selfish to realize this. They don’t care. All they care about is more income for themselves, and saving a buck because they’re cheap. The truth hurts.