Why Airbnb Is Terrible - Cracked Explains 

AirBnb deletes negative reviews. I stayed at an AirBnb and had a disappointing stay, which I put into a review. The AirBnb host contacted me and insulted both my wife and I. Also, our negative review was not present on the listing for this particular room (our stay and review was on my customer site, but not on the host's site). I contacted AirBnb HQ about this and the negative review was put back - for about a week - after which the stay was totally removed from my account. I again contacted HQ about this and was told that since there was no record of my stay, they couldn't do anything about it.

Rented a room in a house for two years until the landlord started secretly using three of the bedrooms as AirBnB rooms. Hard to consider somewhere home with random middle aged, unvetted men just coming and going all the time.

AirBnB is death to small scenic towns. The area I live is drowning in AirBnB options but you can't find an actual place to rent for a reasonable rate. The result is a slow strangulation on the local renting populations ability to live in the area... What the fuck?

Hotels were out of touch with their customers. They even raised prices during recessions. People very much want to travel, but the hotel industry didn’t seem to understand or listen to what they did want. Just like the music industry made a poor decision when they introduced CDs but decided to charge about triple the price of the cassette, and that paved the way for Napster, the taxi and hotel industries were very much doing business as usual without even considering that the customer did not want to pay $200 a night but was willing to pay about $100 a night. So, Uber and Airbnb exist because the people have to create a free market where one doesn’t exist.

*_Aye Air BnB is horrid because I have yet to find any drugs in the homes I've been renting... What a waste..._*

Where's Roger? This is a Roger bit.

Its all about making money...and in exchange you get a low quality service. Selfishness in people is driving the world towards the end faster than you can imagine.

Aaahhh it's like Uber for apartments.

Ultimately the problem with Airbnb is the same as the problem with Uber: designed as a way for people to get a little extra scratch by renting out something they're not using anyway (Airbnb=house when they're out of town, Uber=car when they don't have somewhere else to go) hijacked by people turning it into a full time job.

Used it once a few weeks ago, it was great. Much better than any other non-bankrupcy-inducing stay. We also had a kickass bondage orgy.

My building has 36 condos and only 7 of us are owners/long term renters. All of the other units have been turned into full time Airbnb apartments. My home turned into a hotel in less than a year. This is what happens without regulations. People abuse the system, and push out people living in spaces that used to have a sense of community.

Absolutely agree. I was a host for 4 years beginning in late 2008 and it started great and ended horribly with guests bringing cats that pissed all over my house and cost me $3000 in damages that Airbnb sided with the guest and gave me only $472. I had NUMEROUS damages like this. Then as a Guest i was kicked out of an Airbnb because I have a Service Animal. I've had him for 9 years and the Host didn't want dogs, so Airbnb forced me to go to a hotel which they paid for. But that is essentially allowing discrimination with the hopes that I would not use Airbnb again. Everything about Airbnb has gone down hill since the the first two years. In Brasil we had our Apartment robbed and $8000 in items stolen. Airbnb demanded we get receipts for everything and customs reports that we possessed it. Of course we didn't have that in the middle of a vacation. In the end, after months of fighting we got $1500 from Airbnb because we had $3000 in receipts and they depreciated the values of all of our items. The host is still a host. It was legal robbery. My gf had a guest who came from Ohio to Sunnyvale and immediately found a new boyfriend to stay with so she wanted to cancel her month stay, because he was cheaper or free. She refused because renting the room out that quickly would be hard and would result in a loss of income. So the girl called Airbnb and claimed that her other roommate was a sex offender and they immediately let her leave and gave her all the money. We provided evidence that he was not a sex offender (guilty until proven innocent) and still got nothing from Airbnb. Now they are complicated to manage, they punish you for canceling for any reason at all, they have driven DOWN the prices of your houses and rooms with "SMart Pricing" and in most places in California they are as much as a Hotel. Who is winning here? Airbnb. They take 12% from the Host and 7% from the guest. Wow, 20% just for existing? If you use Airbnb, you get what you deserve. Simple as that.

Seems like Cracked has a problem with everything

Ya, you definitely shouldn't rent out your spare room, because you never know what your tenant will do. However, if you open up a licensed motel, the tenants will be great!

Rent is too damn high!!!

If my neighbor rented out his apartment on Air Bnb I would be pissed! It's just plain inconsiderate and rude to effectively invite strangers into a building without supervision, and just party and get up to all kinds of mayhem. That's a safety and quality of life issue, and airbnb is just another manifestation of the selfishness infesting Society

Still trying to figure out why there is an extra set of Great Lakes in Nevada, Northern Arizona and California's High Desert on the map behind Alex.

THANK YOU for creating this. As a constant traveler, I always avoid Airbnb. Hosts are not trained in hospitality. They never buy nice mattresses no matter how high the price point of their listing. The furniture is always cheap IKEA crap.

This actually changed my opinion. I've always liked AirBnb, because the times I've used it as a guest, I've stayed with some wonderful people and only had good experiences. But you're right - it's got to be enormously bad for housing prices and availability. Good food for thought - thank you!

I tried air b n b while traveling in Europe last summer. I have to say I wasn't impressed. Many of the places I stayed in were not as described or even pictured. The prices people charged for even small, studio apartments were as high if not higher than hotels in the surrounding area. Like the poster from Lisbon - it also drove rent prices in my area up really high, now property owners would like to rent to tourists rather than residents. Its a scam. They have no accountability and no safety standards. You have no idea who you're renting to or renting from. Many of the listings are fake and no safety standards are in place. Hotels, which are licensed, bonded, insured and taxed are much more reliable and professional. I like Booking.com, I found much better deals for hotels than air b n b.

I don't get the complaint about Uber wanting to go driverless at the end. Driverless cars are _demonstrably safer_ AND a sound business choice. Or are you going to complain that there isn't any work for horses anymore?

A huge rant about government not regulating a service that people choose to use while fully knowing the risks? Why does it need to be regulated?

I remember a time of bouncing around Airbnb rentals for over a year. Almost all of the people we met using Airbnb were using Airbnb and endlessly searching for a home. Many had decided they had to move away.

Kind of like an episode of Breaking Bad. Just rent the house and cook up some meth, maybe film some porn, or deal in stolen guns?... What could go wrong? Right?

I think if hotels are priced correctly, Airbnb wouldn't have become so big. Personally, the part that I don't like about Airbnb is that the host can back out after booking confirmation.

This was pretty great, I hope it becomes a permanent show. Its like John Oliver albeit ore internet focused

AirBnb is a minority in the problem of why housing costs are so high, there are so many things that make housing costs go up

He sounds like a great person concerned so much for the good of the established business practices. such a caring guy.

you should rent out your channel to random vid makers for twice what the ads net you.

So now cracked is Last Week Tonight with not John Oliver.

Things are what they are, not what people say they are. Uber is a taxi company, Airbnb is an international hotel company, and they should be subjected to all regulations, taxes and responsibilities.

When pre roll ad is for "How to make money from Airbnb without owning property" Damn😂

I feel like a lot of people are missing the point of this video. The video isn't attacking AirBnB for providing alternatives to hotels, it's attacking them for not caring enough about their facilitation to protect the renters. Regulation CAN be a good thing, especially if it holds people accountable, but the only ones accountable in this situation are the illegal renters or people who rent and don't take care of their property, and AirBnB walks away saying "Oh well, not my fault" despite the fact that they allowed that listing on their site. Moreover, it's not helping the housing shortage if everyone in your neighborhood would rather rent out 20 apartments than put them up for lease. However, they are NOT saying that the people who are renting legally on the site are bad at all.

Who else went to look up AirBnB listings and plan a trip immediately after this video?

In NYC it's rampant. Preventing people in East Harlem to find housing so the government has become involved. Uber is in trouble here too.

I also had bad experience with Airbnb. The host was insulting us because we parked like a foot into her drive. She screamed at our door like a crazy maniac when we were sleeping peacefully "WHO? WHO PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY? IS IT YOU!? WHOOOOOOOO IT IS YOUUUUU!" She was provocative asking if our parents don't teach us any manner and proceed to throw tantrums at us. We left immediately (in fact, we ran immediately) We couldn't believe that she only has hundred of good reviews and not a single negative one. It's not like we don't have money to stay at a hotel. Airbnb sucks and we will never use it again. We're the customer with money, and they're the seller that wants money, not the other way around. I don't get why Airbnb sides with bad hosts. They will eventually lose good customers.

Love how he talks about Sydney while showing an article about Victoria. Nicely done.

Without air B&B all my films would be shot in my bedroom. It's great for getting locations when on a low ass budget

This makes me even happier that I rage quit AirBnB before I even used it. It's a pity that small time people get hurt by this system when people like me refuse to use the app.

My neighbours house is an Airbnb and I hate it so much. They litter, I'm constanly finding their garbage in my yard. The landlords never clean in between renters and they still have the "squeaky clean" badge on that rental property.

Is this the longest video Cracked has ever made??

I got gradually disappointed with airbnb (although have been using it quite often in more than 10 countries now), and am choosing regular hotels during both my work and vacation trips when it's possible. The reason to that is in most big cities, from London to Moscow, the prices are relatively equal to decent hotel prices. Take London as an example - if you want a decent-size studio flat in central london, we're talking 150-200 gbp per night, even more if you are renting it last moment (that "last moment" is one month ahead). Now, I can book a decent 3-star hotel with that price, which will include service, a reception that works 24/7, maybe free breakfast, and other perks of hotels. Yes, staying in a basement flat in bangkok may be romantic or cool if you are a 20-year-old hipster traveling with your girlfriend on your gap year, but if you're a frequent traveler due to your work, and you don't really have time and nerves to play the "hope-the-owner-is-not-a-total-douche" gamble every time you rent on airbnb, good old hotel is your choice.

Im all for encouraging the entrepreneur but they really have had a huge part to play in why many of us can't afford to live where we grew up. So they move away from the cities they can't afford to live in or do business in which is gradually eroding the reasons ppl want to go to a city, all the shops aren't in one place anymore and there are far fewer ppl there to create a city atmosphere.

I went to an AirBnB room once. The pictures they took intentionally made it so that it looked good, but in reality was in the ghetto part of Statton Island where my friend and I almost got mugged. We rented a hotel in Manhattan after that.

Cracked: Surprise! We Are Annoyed At A New Thing! (Next up: 6 Things We Are Annoyed With)

So, did I get this right: Airbnb=bad; Couchsurfing=good

I will never use Airbnb again after getting into a dispute with a "host" who kept me up most of the night. Although I had rented "the whole place," it was a cobbled together basement in-law and the loud hosts were over my head, running around, shouting, and playing video games into the night. Also, even though she'd been called a "super host," the place was filthy. I messaged the host and asked them to keep it down (how awkward is that?) and they didn't. I then messaged them that I'd be canceling my 2nd and 3rd nights. Her husband stupidly messaged me that they'd refund those nights... but then they strung me out for weeks until it was too late for me to post a negative review and refused to refund me. Airbnb did step in and get me my 2nd and 3rd nights back when they saw the messages and the photos I took. Horrible experience. I have traveled twice since and have booked real hotels where I'll be treated like a guest. I'll never go back to Airbnb.

I lived beneath a condo that was an AirBNB for "tech bros" and it was a MISERABLE existence. The "guests" blocked open security doors to let in their friends, thought the hallways and elevators were a great place to throw trash, and that 3 am was a perfectly reasonable time to throw a loud party. There's a place for that kind of behavior: it's called a "hotel".

Government is not the only source of accountability. I wonder which hotel chain funded this video...

Yeah, not sure how this is the worst thing ever...

Super random/unrelated: what the hell is with the weirdo-fictional “larger-than-Great-Lakes” bodies of water over in the western United States portion of the map displayed behind him throughout this video..? Is anyone else bothered by this..? Are those supposed to exaggerated rivers? What the hells going on there?

I wouldn't be surprised if our universe is a shared universe of shows and movies taking place on Earth and possibly other places

Usually when Cracked does an informative video, they make it funny. This was not one of those cases.

I've never heard of this thing, I don't even know if it's in my country, let alone if it's regulated.

GREAT video guys loving these!!!

Loads of thanks for the up...Cracked:)

I know Ari Teman -- the guy with the orgy in his room -- personally. The episode put him on a rental blacklist in NYC. You'll never meet a more hardcore foe of Airbnb.

I still don't get the problem. It's a trade-off... in exchange for a bit less accountability you get quick, easy and afordable access to anyplace you want to stay. It's your own choice. Btw: the lack of bad reviews is not an issue. If you want to be on the safe side, simply don't choose places that have none or only 1-2 reviews. Sometimes ,after having a bad time, instead of a negative review, people don't write one at all. But it's super uncommon to write a positive review after having a bad time.

this is my favorite kind of video you guys make because you're not super angry or shitting on people but you're still getting the facts across in an interesting way, which I really appreciate.

We need an economy where you can work harder/more to get nicer things, and you can make a living on on limited hours. Our goal should be as much free time to enjoy family, friends, and life as possible. Robotics will slowly displace workers. We have to find solutions to deal with dwindling opportunities beyond the "I got mine" attitude. Reducing the population, fewer hours with more pay, etc. It's a complicated issue that we need to consider now instead of waiting till we're well into the problem before admitting the problem even exists.

Perhaps some motel owners should just close their hotel, move in, call it their 50+ room house, and then use AirBNB to rent out the rooms? That way they can avoid government regulation too! The thing this video misses is that it's the REGULATIONS that are the problem, not AirBNB.

Holy shit this is so in-depth. Bravo. That's some goddamn journalism shit right there

Trust me I would rather stay at a Hampton Inn and get Hilton Honors Points.

i keep on using airbnb because i can't afford hotels

17 minutes? Lordy. Is cracked a comedy site or a documentary publisher?

This is the first time I have ever heard of Airbnb, and after reading the title I thought it was some sort of plane uber.

“Everything bad that can happen has happened in an airbnb”

13:50 "The rents in the last ten years have skyrocketed." So they're 'supplementing' their income with AirBbB. Which caused the rents to skyrocket, and will continue to skyrocket them further.

The problem at its root is that hotels charge an arm and a leg. If hotels were more affordable then we wouldnt need homes to replace them for temporary housing.

So if Government can't tax it, that makes it bad?

The ONLY reason why AirBnB became so popular was becase most hotels had unreasonably high prices, misleading room rates, AND municipal or city taxes (I'm pointing at YOU - NYC government) that were insanely high and unjustified. I've never been an AirBnB host or user, but I'm glad that there is more competition to wake up the hotel industry. And why is Cracked defending these big-business companies?

Watching while staying at a place I booked through airbnb 😂

brilliant. higher journalistic standards and better fact checking than most...

If most of this is true why aren't hotels lowering their insanely high rates to compete?

Headlines we'd like to read: FOUNDER OF AIRBNB MISSING IN UBER ABDUCTION. AIRBNB CEILING COLAPSES ON FOUNDER OF UBER.

During Irma, my house was completely destroyed and my family took refuge in an Airbnb. Little did we know it was a crack house. Literally a crack house, there were crack spoons, smoke marks, bullet holes...but it was the only place with running water and electricity. Someone actually attempted to get in while we were there. Luckily the gate lock withstood the beating. We were forced to stay there and when I spoke to Airbnb about the uninhabitable state, they said sorry and they are within regulations/the requirements of Airbnb. Airbnb is fucked up.

Please get a better map for your background. I am triggered by the image of a giant lake system in the southwestern United States.

America may have to do a "brexit" with the "share economy." Honestly, in a Democracy we shouldn't simply have the privilege to deeply sigh and lose faith in our government's ability to empathize with the common man, we should be able to do something (like this video) and more. Also, don't all super villains believe they are a "force of nature," and are simply "honoring some 'invisible hand.'" That should be considered a mental disorder in the DSM. Good content.

Agree. I had some really bad Airbnb experiences and finally realise a simple fact, that if you were dealing with an unregulated & illegal business, there's nothing you can do when things go wrong, especially when it comes to safety. Risking your life and health for a few nights of cheap stay just dosen't make sense. BTW the ones I stayed in has really high scores and positive reviews.

Excellent video!👍

I don't think Airbnb is gonna kill hotels. I much prefer hotels to any other temporary housing.

The real reason no one leaves bad reviews on Airbnb is because both the host and guest get to rate each other... It's mutually assured destruction of each other's public credibility. So thumbs up all round.

My neighbor started renting her apartment through airb&b this summer and thanks to her we feel like we live in a hotel now. Our kids are not safe in the communal areas and garden. There are new strangers caming in and out every week… so thank you airb&b. We’re desperately waiting for the new regulations..

I think this problem is being blown out of proportion. There is a very limited number of people needing temporary accomodation at any time, so when supply and demand reach an equilibrium, housing prices will stabilize again. You can always build more houses, but you can't create more tourists.

Not even 3 Minutes in and I'm bored to death...

How is possible that "Airbnb helped double rent prices in 13 years" in the small Texas town? It was founded in 2008.

9:18 Great point. Very insightful video.

Bravo. Great Essay. A change of music could suit your style more. And without a laptop in front of you is a good fit :) Hope this keeps going. Its nice.

People making money on their own??? STOP THE EVIL!

... This is my first time hearing of Airbnb.

Watching this in 2020: Is AirBnB even around anymore due to the covids

This was a great video, but please consider toning down the music. :) Very informative though thanks!

New guy is like a beautiful John Oliver, but with more facts and less annoying audience laughter.

Man Airbnb is super lit! Better than Hotels honestly. To have an entire home for vacation for the price of a hotel room? Whaaaaat? Maybe a hotel company paid Cracked to do this lol.

My Airbnb host asked me on the night before (11pm) my checkout day via app to leave 2 hours earlier than the checkout time that he put on the website. I did leave 2 hours earlier because we literally didn't even have time to talk about it but reported to Airbnb. 4 days of no response from them, Airbnb finally contacted the host and he lied to them. But Airbnb believed what he said and he left me a negative review. The Airbnb person who dealt with the issue was on the host's side the whole time for some reason, didn't even try to understand the problem or the inconvenience the host caused. I have deleted my account and haven't used Airbnb since.

I wouldn't be happy if Japan got rid of Air bnb there. For one they don't have the commercial hotel market like we have in the US. A lot of the hotels I saw were marketed as love hotels, ones where you pay by the night or by the hr. I also stayed in capsule hotels for around $70 a night for my three foot by seven foot "room." Sure there are traditional inns but at around $200 a night on up isn't affordable for some. I can rent out someone's house for $40 a night and I get a nice bed and in some cases a full house.

10:00 there is even a site called "airbnbvsberlin" which shows how they effect prices

Solution? Treat people renting properties that they don't live in through airbnb the same way a tax-evading hotel chain would be treated... What's so complicated about this?

drinking game : every time he says "airbnb" you have to drink. every time he says "regulation" you have to take a shot.

about 3000 people are airbnb bot accounts