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Airbnb Asks People to Donate Money to Landlords, Backlash Ensues

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished? dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Airbnb-asks-people-to-donate-money-to-hosts-15407730.php

Airbnb's latest attempt to appease hosts and customers amid a tumultuous year was met with a searing backlash on social media.

The online vacation rental marketplace, headquartered in San Francisco, initiated a feature this week offering customers the chance to donate money and "kindness cards" to hosts.

"Today we're introducing a new way to connect with your favorite hosts. Now you can create personalized kindness cards that make it easy to send a message of appreciation or encouragement, with the option to add a contribution. We hope these cards will make hosts smile, and bring a little joy your way," a message from the company to customers read.

"Airbnb has lost its f---ing head, why would I donate to my host? I can't even afford one house." Twitter user olenskae fumed.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by looorg on Sunday July 19 2020, @06:23PM (2 children)

    by looorg (578) on Sunday July 19 2020, @06:23PM (#1023800)

    How much did AirBnB chip in for this tipping circle? As far as I can tell nothing. If they wanted to do something nice for their "hosts" then why don't they just cut their commission rates or start sending money to the "hosts"? Don't see that happening. I guess they did use some of their employees to make the graphics and update their service, I guess that was as far as they are willing to go.

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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday July 19 2020, @10:04PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday July 19 2020, @10:04PM (#1023833)

    AirBnB loses too much money to be able to reduce their fees.

    Apparently at one point they did make some profits, but not lately. Hopefully they will go bust and disappear.

    I like your plan though. Maybe rapacious investment funds like Kleiner Perkins could send all their money directly to the hosts and cut out the middle man.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday July 20 2020, @11:24AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 20 2020, @11:24AM (#1024043) Journal

    How much did AirBnB chip in for this tipping circle? As far as I can tell nothing.

    Yep, it's free advertising. The cheapskates (like the above "olenskae") will grouse for a while raising the visibility of the Airbnb brand.