Guests renting a stay through Airbnb are about to be subject to a lot more scrutiny.
Sure, it’s easy to impress your host; wipe the counters, leave your dishes in the dishwasher, don’t have a cocaine-fuelled orgy. They won’t know what happens during your time in the apartment anyway. Your host’s neighbours, however, will – and now they’re being given a voice.
Starting next month, Airbnb will allow neighbours of rented-out properties to review guests’ behaviour. They’ll be able to file complaints through an online feedback form to notify Airbnb of disturbances like loud music or finding a corpse in the backyard.
“One of the most important issues facing the sharing economy is how the people choosing to take part in it co-exist with those that aren’t,” said Yasuyuki Tanabe, the head of Airbnb in Japan.
What happens with those complaints is unclear. Airbnb hasn’t announced whether they will be published publicly or what action will be taken against guests who’ve drawn the ire of their hosts’ neighbours. Unless a neighbour’s review of unruly guests is made public – as reviews by hosts currently are – there will be little consequence for those checking in for a weekend of cocaine and corpses.
For now, it’s important that people are offered a platform to air their grievances outside of Twitter.
“Our first step in this direction is to give neighbours the opportunity to comment or complain,” said Tanabe.