[mellavora]

My brother works for HUD. They have many examples of people (ab)using Airbnb to operate as slumlords; a type of exploitation which is outlawed. The corporation Airbnb has historically not been cooperative in assisting the HUD in this process.

So no, it is not just rich people renting to rich people. In many cases it is rich people using the platform to avoid regulations which prohibit exploitative renting to poor people.

And the corporation which enables this actively hinders investigations. Because Airbnb is also getting a cut of these rents.

[an_opabinia]

But for people that poor, isn’t the alternative not living there at all? Or a different slumlord?

I have nothing but empathy for someone who can’t drive and cannot afford normal housing in the same place they receive services. I totally understand how some of those people would choose to have fewer services and leave, or god forbid be homeless.

But do those people you’re describing, who actively login into AirBnb - if they didn’t get something they paid for in-platform, or if the listing is lying, are you saying Airbnb doesn’t come through? It almost certainly does. A giant corporation is honestly better equipped to go to bat for a wronged customer simply because it has the money to provide a remedy and a case manager does not - the case manager must get all remedies from the richest institution of them all, the government.

Personally I believe Airbnb should just design a high minimum rental cost and ban all transactions that are too cheap. But I wouldn’t describe Airbnb as exploiting these people, they are obviously victims of landlords?