[deloschang]

"then it seems logical to me that AirBnb should at the very least make the person renting out a place check a box..."

As far as AirBnB is concerned, they provide a big chunk of their value serving as a "marketplace", not necessarily for <30 days sublets. Reputation management, escrow etc. Note you can enter in arbitrary check-in and check-out dates and they have a "/sublets" section as well.

Wiser for them to focus on this value proposition than try to navigate the red tape and ensure legality across the globe.

[frandroid]

Ensuring hosts know that they risk being evicted for renting out their homes should be part of the value they provide.

[abruzzi]

IANAL, but I suspect that they want to know as little as possible about specific users. If the play dumb and mention that you may need to check with local laws about the legality, then they can play dumb in court. If they know too much, they become complicit in the "crime" and may be fined, etc.

[frandroid]

They might "want to know" as little as possible, but they know the exact address of each user, and they definitely know the law in major American urban markets. They can't play dumb in an American court and say "oh I didn't know it was illegal for my residential hosts to rent rooms in SF and NYC!" Like, come on. Judges aren't dumb.

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

If airbnb reminds people they may face legal risks in participating in the service, the hosts may be less likely to continue, which is not in airbnb's interest.

[frandroid]

Oh, I understand the short-term capitalist incentive. It doesn't mean that it's right, legal, or in the company's long term interest. What if a class action lawsuit of hosts getting evicted hit them? I have trouble imagining on which grounds this would be successful, but then again IANA(class action)L.