Airbnb Finally Embraces Verified Listings After Halloween Deaths
Skift Take
Airbnb has avoided these policies under the guise of being just a platform, much like the rest of the tech platform companies. We just hope at some point that tragedies are not the only way to propel change that lots of stakeholders have been asking for all along.
As Airbnb tries to distance itself from a shooting that left five people dead inside an Orinda, California, home on Halloween, it announced new policies to both protect guests and prevent scammers from gaming its regulations.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Wednesday that Airbnb will verify all listings on its platform by December 15, 2020, and will finally guarantee to guests that the listing they have booked is accurate beginning on December 19, 2019.
Details are scarce, with this verification apparently coming from a combination of touchpoints including its technology and guest reviews instead of manual inspections by Airbnb employees.
In the lead-up to its expected initial public offering next year, Airbnb is addressing the elephant in the room: its h
