During the second-largest snowfall in New York City’s history, rental listings service Airbnb allowed Patrick Horton and his roommates to list the igloo they built in their Brooklyn back yard for $200 a night.
In another part of the world, Airbnb has allowed Israeli settlers to list their West Bank homes for rent. The adverts failed to mention that such homes are illegal under international law, since they are built on occupied Palestinian land. They also failed to include warnings over the safety and security of residents.
The igloo listing was pulled from the website within a short time, but the settler homes continue to appear.
While Airbnb promises to change how we do an important task, which is finding a nice place to stay during our holiday, it’s failing to moderate its content and, thus, is running the risk of becoming like classifieds website Craigslist, which has descended into a place of ridicule. Airbnb should take heed.