
An email from Airbnb - chirau
Dear <i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i><i></i>,<p>We’re emailing you because the state legislature sent the anti-home sharing bill -- the result of a backroom deal -- to Governor Cuomo&#x27;s desk yesterday. That means he must take action on the bill in the next ten days.<p>The Governor has a choice: veto this bill, which would be a victory for middle class New Yorkers and a rejection of Albany backroom deals. Or, sign the bill and leave tens of thousands of New Yorkers vulnerable to huge fines. (Cuomo could also do nothing, which would mean it still becomes law.) Governor Cuomo needs to hear from as many of us as possible, right now, to stop this backroom deal from becoming law.<p>&lt;link&gt; Tweet and Call the Governor &lt;link&gt;<p>In June, the state legislature passed an anti-home sharing bill that would fine everyday New Yorkers who advertise their home on sites like Airbnb up to $7,500. As we’ve waited to hear whether or not Governor Cuomo would sign the bill into law or veto it, you’ve been by our side, taking action when it counted most to send a message to the Governor about the impact of this bad bill. Thousands of Airbnb hosts and travelers tweeted, called, and sent emails.<p>Now we need you to take action again. We must ensure the Governor stands with seniors, students, small businesses, and communities that rely on home sharing for economic opportunity, and not with the big hotel special interests pushing this anti-tenant, anti-homeowner, anti-innovation bill.
Take action right now and tell Governor Cuomo why home sharing is important to you. There isn’t much time!<p>We’re in this together,<p>The Airbnb Team
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atomical
I stayed in an airbnb. I provided photo evidence that the airbnb was unsafe.
They didn't pull the listing and told me to work it out with the owner.

It was really interesting because they told me that they tried contact the
owner and he didn't respond -- which the employee remarked was pretty common.
Still, they continued to list his property.

I support more regulation.

~~~
MichaelBurge
"unsafe" is a bit ambiguous.

If the place didn't meet building codes so you were likely to fall off of
stairs without a railing, file a complaint with the city.

If you actually fell off the stairs and hurt yourself, file a lawsuit against
the owner. He'll make a claim against his insurance, and probably will have
higher premiums.

If it was a shared unit and there were other dangerous tenants(ex-felons or
sex offenders), then maybe Airbnb could screen people better or at least make
it an option on the listing. I think somebody is required to disclose this
fact to you(either the felon or the owner), or else they're liable.

If it was unsafe in a way that wasn't illegal, then there's not really an
Airbnb-specific problem. You wouldn't sue the local newspaper for listing an
apartment that ended up unsafe, you would sue the landlord. It's unclear why
the rental being short-term would or the choice of listing venue would change
that. And it's not like Airbnb loses legal rights just because they're larger
than the local newspaper, or incorporated, or accepted VC money.

~~~
life_is_short
A newspaper and Airbnb aren't exactly the same thing. One difference is a
newspaper recognizes it can't show reviews of its listings, so it doesn't.

~~~
MichaelBurge
Why is showing reviews relevant? Amazon doesn't take down reviews because
they'd be prosecuted or sued for publishing the opinions of its members if
they didn't; they take them down as a product decision.

It's not at all obvious to me that companies should be liable for the contents
of reviews from their customers, even those that they have reason to believe
are false.

