*Why does Airbnb allow renters to list their apartments on Airbnb at all?* What ... | Hacker News

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		Zak on June 11, 2012 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Short-term rentals disrupting SF housing market Why does Airbnb allow renters to list their apartments on Airbnb at all? What is the incentive for Airbnb to check? Even assuming most listers do have the legal right to do so, checking in a way that isn't easily gamed would be time-consuming and expensive. It's pretty obvious why they don't do that; it would put them out of business. Was this a rhetorical question meant to make the point "Airbnb is bad"?

tptacek on June 11, 2012 [–]

I said I liked Airbnb, so you can safely assume that no point I raise is a cryptic barb at them.

I think Airbnb has no incentive right now to try to ensure that listings are legitimate or authorized, and that that's a problem.

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