Airbnb Reinstates Domio Listings After Scandal Cost CEO His Job
Skift Take
Despite Brian Chesky’s rhetoric about Airbnb needing to return to its local connections mission and roots, the economics point to Airbnb needing Domio- and Sonder-like listings. Even if it means negative publicity pre-IPO.
Domio's short-term rental listings are back on Airbnb after being suspended for several weeks, but Domio's two co-founders, CEO Jay Roberts and Chief Strategy Officer Adrian Lam, were forced out as the seeming price for reinstatement.
Domio announced the executive departures on Friday.
Although Domio's quasi-hotel listings are back on Airbnb in cities such as New Orleans and Nashville, interim CEO Jim Mhra, who replaced Roberts on the board of directors, has to operate the company knowing that one of its main distribution partners, Airbnb, has given Domio a "final warning" regarding further violations.
Airbnb suspended Domio's listings in mid-August after The Information conducted an investigation that found a number of questionable practices, including Roberts, chief strategy officer Lam, and three other employees erroneously passing off homes they'd purchased in Nashville several years ago as being their primary residences, and listing them on Airbnb in apparent violations of the city ordinance.
The sketchy practices also included "the listing of rental properties using a network of misleading Airbnb host accounts — some featuring fak
