Airbnb’s opponents are tightening their guidelines for a way friends entry keys following a horrifying investigation into violent crimes at rental properties listed on the positioning.
Expedia’s rental enterprise Vrbo now forbids hosts from leaving keys in public locations the place the rental’s “proprietor, enterprise supervisor or employees isn’t current,” in keeping with the corporate’s web site. Hosts who don’t abide by the rule could also be banned from Vrbo.
TripAdvisor, in the meantime, additionally plans to tighten its guidelines on how keys are transferred to friends, Bloomberg reported.
The information comes two weeks after a stunning investigation revealed {that a} 29-year-old Australian vacationer was raped at knifepoint in a Manhattan Airbnb rental in 2016 by an assailant who someway had a key to the unit.
The unnamed feminine sufferer had reportedly picked up the keys to the rental at a close-by bodega with out exhibiting identification, elevating questions of how many individuals have been in a position to entry the house.
Two years after the incident, Airbnb paid the girl $7 million in a settlement that forestalls her from suing or blaming the corporate or the rental’s host, in keeping with Bloomberg.
Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit stated that the corporate requires all hosts to “correctly safe their listings, and that features requiring that key exchanges are made safely and securely” below a safety coverage that has been in place since 2019.
The corporate additionally requires hosts to alter keypad and lockbox codes between reservations, Breit stated.
Vrbo, in the meantime, solely “recommends that hosts change codes, in keeping with the corporate’s web site.
TripAdvisor didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
