Whathello

People who had rented a house in France with Airbnb discovered ... a body in the garden.
Nobody, even here, would have thought that Airbnb could lead to that ;-)

http://www.rtl.be/info/monde/france/...re-798164.aspx

JulieEC

We stayed in a hotel once and the person in the room next door was murdered. The floor turned into a crime scene. But I'm not sure the point?

Dukey1

AirBnB and Uber are sacred around here because nothing bad ever happens there. If someone posts that it did they are immediately criticized for being "new."

Tulips

That's what you get with Airbnb guests - they snoop around your property ;-)

JulieEC

I guess I still don't get the point, Dukey. Bad stuff happens everywhere. Some people stay home as a result. Others weigh the risk and still go.

I'm guessing most people on this board still go and accept that bad things happen everywhere? (Or is there some reason beyond an anecdote that we should avoid Airbnb?)

I might be hesitant in Paris due to the regulations and enforcement. Not because I worry Airbnb is predisposed to dead bodies...

suze

Seems like you'd be more likely to cross paths with a dead body in a regular hotel than at a private residence rental. Just because of sheer numbers of guests that pass thru.

fuzzbucket

I don't usually see dead people, but I'm very puzzled by the latest AirBnB ad, which appeared in a Parisian movie theatre yesterday.

Some guy (I've never heard of him, apparently has a "survivor"-type reality show) jumps out of a small-engine plane, then swims to a tiny spit of sand in the middle of some tropical ocean, and proceeds to enter his - wait for it - charming AirBnB rental. I guess this is one instance where someone will truly be "living like a local", since he's the only person there. Also guessing that he doesn't mind using palm fronds for personal hygiene reasons.

If jumping out of planes into the abyss is the kind of behavior that AirBnB encourages in its clients, the body count might possibly increase...
I wonder if AirBnB is using the same advertising company that HomeAway did during their first SuperBowl ad which showed a baby hitting a window while the family was arguing? The ad was later sanitized, but here's the original version:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfHHywSumfc

sundriedtopepo

Tulips- lol
The only airbnb we ever rented was as cute as a button and perfect for us.
Part of the deal was to strip the sheets and wash them before we left.
When we stripped the sheets, there was a yellow stain 3 feet in diameter in the middle of the bed. Yuck! And in the drawer we found a spray bottle of Mattress Refresher.

Not that that happens all the time, of course, but it was a real turn off for our very first airbnb rental.
The owner is a real estate agent who owns several other units, so one would expect the hygiene to be a little bit better.

I also hate that airbnb is partially to blame for lack of rental units and resulting high rents in Vancouver, already world famous for high price of real estate.

StCirq

Holy cow, fuzz! They actually ran that ad?

fuzzbucket

Yup.
Others followed, mostly showing what damage your kids could get up to - food fights, jumping on the furniture, running around an unprotected swimming pool - while their parents were hanging around having cocktails.
It's this attitude that has ruined the idea of vacation rentals for many property owners, no matter where the unit is located.

StCirq

Well, I hear you about the jumping on the beds. We once had a German family literally break two of our beds in half here when we were renting the place. I can only guess their kids were jumping on the beds (don't want to think about the other possibilities). Was about the only time we didn't return the full security deposit.

Scarlett

We stayed in a hotel once, a large hotel , and all was quiet. Until the next morning when the police et al were outside one of the doors.. with tape on the door etc.
Someone died in their bed .. there was question if they were alone at the time. yikes.

Scarlett

my post had nothing to do with Air BnB, sorry lol

Whathello

I would never rent my house to complete strangers.

Problem is partly being Belgian : we love our houses so we spend a lot of money in them - don't want somebody ruining it.

JulieEC

True enough, Whathello... Most Airbnb posts involve angst by the tenant. The home owner has, IMO, so much more at risk.

fuzzbucket

To be fair, AirBnB didn't start the trend of "vacation brain" - that started when VRBO was bought by HomeAway, whose goal it was to encourage "family-style" travel, where guests expect to behave anyway they want to, just because they have paid for a rental.

sartoric

Or, there's this, when a family rents a home on Airbnb with one locked room. The room was a growing space for hydroponic marijuana, that's illegal here. The police arrive, the family gets turfed out as the property becomes a crime scene.

www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au › news

Kittydell

Oh my god!!! Crazy crazy world. I'm a hotels girl myself, and i think i'm going to keep it that way..

KodakMoment

I've always wanted to rent an apartment via Airbnb, but how do I make sure the owner hasn't installed any cameras in the bathroom?

janisj

>>but how do I make sure the owner hasn't installed any cameras in the bathroom?<<

OK -- how do you know that hasn't happened in a hotel???

Just ask Erin Andrews/