Airbnb Rental is once again in a hot seat after an essay of a previous client recounted the death of his father while staying in one of Airbnb's advertised home.
According to huffingtonpost.com, Zak Stone, a freelance journalist, shared the events on his family's stay at an Aribnb property that has a rope swing tied to a tree. Zak's father died when he tried out the swing and "the trunk it was tied to broke in half and fell on his head, immediately ending most of his brain activity."
He then added that Airbnb extended their condolences through a "thoughtful note" three days after his father's death. Stone said "My family remains free to speak about Airbnb's role in the accident since we never pursued legal action against them," Stone also wrote. "Our lawyer -- my dad's best friend since college -- extracted a settlement from the hosts' homeowners' insurance policy, which, lucky for us, did not deny coverage for commercial activity."
Though the incident happened few years back, Zak's piece has been gaining attention as it raises concern and awareness in the safety of the guests on listed properties in Airbnb. Private property owners are being able to rent out their houses and properties to travelers through Airbnb. The company will then send photographers to the property to get pictures for them to advertise the house. However, Zak pointed out that Airbnb fails to send inspectors to check on the safety of the guests while staying in the property.
In a report by aww.com.au [Australian Women's Weekly], Zak's essay has also pointed out a possible flaw in the system of home sharing. He said "Could the company, with its reportedly $24 billion valuation and plans to go public, do more to ensure the safety of the properties where millions of guests stay each year?"
Amidst all the controversies their company is facing, Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas said "We were shocked and heartbroken when we learned about these incidents and we continue to keep these guests and their families in our thoughts. Nothing is more important to us than safety. We have always worked to help our hosts provide a safe experience for guests and have worked to provide helpful information to everyone in our community."
However, Papas was not able to clarify if a property needs to have a certain certifications or inspections to be included in the platform's listings.
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