Is Airbnb safe?

[mickey2942]

Woman allegedly raped at New York Airbnb received secret $7m settlement – report

Airbnb tried to hide a crime in one of its accommodations by paying 7 million dollars

This is scary!

Summary: a young woman went to NYC with friends. She went back to Airbnb alone, and was sexually assaulted, by a man who had a set of keys to the Airbnb!

What I find particularly scary about this, is the money given to this young woman to keep the assault "quiet". Meaning, not sue Airbnb.

How many other times has this happened? Based on the swift response and immediate attention that Airbnb gave this assault, along with a specific "manager" in charge...seems to me that this is not an anomaly.

How many sets of keys to the Airbnb you are staying at are floating around? Who has them? What type of security is available at Airbnb? There is a case on WS about another young woman assaulted and killed at an Airbnb.

I have considered staying at Airbnb, but this is disturbing.

 

[Laughing]

We've used them, no problems. I did read that article. I expect that most lodging chains have similar policies.

(I've had my credit card double-charged by a major lodging chain BTW. )

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[BritishSleuth]

I have stayed in several Airbnbs before and, to be honest, never felt particularly unsafe.

The main potential issues from my experience are:
- Many use physical keys which could easily be copied by hundreds of different people. Hotels used to use these, but the vast majority use electronic cards nowadays with technology to track who opens doors and when they do so. Electronic locks are becoming more common, but are far from everywhere.
- Many are in random residential buildings in random neighborhoods which guests find difficult to navigate. That's very different to a hotel which today have a minimum of a reception desk and some sort of CCTV system.
- I think there are also issues with cameras in more properties than we would like to think. After a friend had a nasty incident with a spy camera, I now try to check rooms out before settling in but am unsure whether it's wise or a bit crazy.

BTW, all businesses in this area will have managers to deal with issues like these. Even the big multinational hotel chains.

 

[Laughing]

Like hotels, take the time to read the reviews. Read the reviews of nearby restaurants & attractions, consider clicking around enough to read the reviewers other reviews -- is every place too hot, too cold, too something?

We prefer the keypad entry over keys, and seem to have managed to stay in houses the the family uses. Both help!

In the fall we had a great stay in an historic property. Adult kids met us about 1/2 way between our homes. It rained one night & I was startled by a mouse under the kitchen sink the next morning. Didn't even mention that in the review, but did let the host know!

We've had good experiences, but of course our next stay could be a train wreck.

 

[Donnie McG]

I would say generally that Airbnb is fine, many top notch places out there, but with the nature of what is on offer there are bound to be the odd ones that makes the Bates Motel look good! As has been said I would always check reviews first, keypad entry is better than keys in my opinion as well, but with most things in life it can be a bit of a gamble.