[gonehome]

While people can argue if AirBnB shares any blame (since they do make it more difficult to research the person in order to prevent people from making the deal outside of their fee), whether or not it is actually their fault is really irrelevant.

It was inevitable that there was going to be a robbery or murder or some other major event that would cause a big stir for the company and challenge their response. To me the obvious thing in this case seemed to be to immediately contact the person, take care of all financial losses (to the excess in order to show they're taking the issue seriously) and then to use this case as a reminder to the community to be aware of potential dangers inherent in renting out your home and that while they can't take financial responsibility for damages in the future, they're willing to make things right in this case since it was a learning experience for everyone.

It would have been a reasonable response that would have made them look good. Instead they look desperate, political and selfish. It will hurt them more than it should.

[Krylez]

Agreed. The initial reports indicated that AirBnB was being very helpful. It looks like they backed off after the story went public. They should have taken it as an opportunity to do something good with everyone watching.

[gonehome]

I think had they done that, it could have actually made people really comfortable with the risk involved with using AirBnB. I wonder why they backed off. It also seems that something like having people submit scans of their drivers license or other form of ID would help prevent these kinds of problems.