Airbnb tries to put out the fires

The smartest insight and analysis of the home-sharing giant's bad week, rounded up from around the web

Protesters.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web:

Airbnb is the latest technology giant forced to "reckon with the unintended consequences of how people use" its platform, said David Yaffe-Bellany at The New York Times. The home-sharing company announced last week that it "plans to conduct a comprehensive review" of all seven million of its listings, verifying "photographs, addresses, and other information posted with each property." The announcement came after a shooting killed five people at a party in an Airbnb rental in California, and a report by Vice about a rental scam in which Airbnb guests were notified about an "emergency" before their intended stay and rebooked at a much dingier property. The news comes as Airbnb faces backlash from critics who question how effectively the platform monitors bad actors and who say the company pushes "unruly tourists into residential areas."

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