[dkharrat]

Doesn't Airbnb fall in the same category? Renting out your property for a few days to complete strangers requires a lot of trust, and yet from what I can tell, Airbnb seems to have overcome this hurdle.

I do agree there was a trust issue with Homejoy (I've personally tried them once and had similar concerns). But, I don't believe the issue was that they were in an unviable business where trust can't be gained, but rather they didn't have the right mechanics in place that help develop the necessary trust between the consumer and the cleaners.

[secabeen]

Most people who rent out their homes to AirBNB strip the home of small, valuable items who's theft would not be noticed. I've never been in an AirBNB that contained jewelry, bank statements, blank checks, or other personal items.

For large valuable items, they inventory them before the rental, and check the inventory when the rental ends. As such, a thief trying to steal from an AirBNB can only take large expensive items (like the TV), and will be immediately caught during the check-out check.

Cleaners can quietly lift the pearl necklace you only wear for the holidays and you might not notice for a few months, at which time you might have 6 homejoy cleaners as possible suspects. People don't want to theft-sanitize their homes every time a cleaner comes.