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Airbnb draws the wrath of French designer over decorating ideas
When you rent out your home through Airbnb, theft is probably one of a host's biggest concerns. What if a guest doesn't steal anything tangible, but copies your entire home decor? That's what Zoé de las Cases claims happened to her. She's a French interior designer who hosted Airbnb founder Brian Chesky four years ago and now has filed a lawsuit against (a very similarly decorated) Airbnb head office. It's a situation that could be laughed off as a complete coincidence, however the office seems to have replicas of very personal souvenirs and even images of Cases' grandmother up on its walls. She's upset because the company never asked her permission to replicate what is essentially a body of her work. And, of course, did not give her credit for the interior. We've reached out to Airbnb, but so for the company isn't commenting on the claims.
Airbnb helps Paris attack victims' families find free places to stay
Facebook isn't the only internet giant offering a helping hand in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. Airbnb has launched a portal that helps anyone affected by the attacks find (or offer) a free place to stay. If you're determined to meet with a family member or got stuck in the city during border closures, you won't have to pay a thing -- Airbnb is waiving its service fees at the same time. You have to check in no later than November 17th, but that's about the only condition involved.
Airbnb promises to work more closely with cities on home rentals
To say that Airbnb's relationship with cities is sometimes confrontational would be an understatement. At times, it's practically contemptuous. The home rental service is trying to offer an olive branch, though -- it just posted a Community Compact that promises a better relationship with the cities where it operates. Airbnb is promising to communicate with each city on a case-by-case basis, and make sure that it pays its "fair share" of taxes. It's also vowing more transparency, and to encourage "responsible" home sharing (such as discouraging people who turn homes into permanent hotels).
Expedia to pay $3.9 billion for Airbnb competitor HomeAway
The short-term rental market is growing, and Expedia understandably wants a piece of it. After snapping up Orbitz and Travelocity earlier this year, it has now decided to purchase HomeAway. It's an online service that focuses on renting out vacation homes, further intensifying Expedia's rivalry with Airbnb. The travel empire has been displaying HA properties alongside hotels for a couple of years, but it will now completely own the company and all its brands. In its press release, Expedia admits that it has agreed to pay a hefty $3.9 billion for HomeAway, because it has "long had [its] eyes on the fast growing ~$100 billion alternative accommodations space." Both companies are expecting to close the deal in 2016, and if they obtain regulatory approval, Expedia will pay in cash and stock worth $38.31 per share.
Airbnb wins over voters in fight against rental restrictions in SF
Airbnb and similar services have won against Proposition F, with most San Francisco residents choosing to vote against the controversial measure. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the proposition lost by 55 percent to 45 percent, though Reuters is reporting that it lost by 61 percent instead. Prop F, which is also known as the Airbnb Initiative, is backed by hotel workers' unions, landlords and housing activists. They believe that laws governing services like Airbnb's should be stricter and that rentals are making the housing crisis worse, driving up rent and land prices in the city.
Airbnb wants to book your whole trip
Outside of a limited concierge service, Airbnb hasn't done much beyond getting you a room -- you're on your own if you want a tour. That might change very soon, however. Airbnb is testing Journeys, a travel agent-like service that covers the whole experience. The fixed-price option covers basics like accommodation, meals and transportation, but also provides a hand-picked host who'll show you around town. You could visit locals' favorite eateries, attend parties or even go skydiving. About the only thing you'd have to worry about is getting to the city in the first place.
Airbnb ad campaign in San Francisco riles locals and librarians
There's bad ads and then there's this bus advertisement from Airbnb. The tone of it seems, well off and condescending and initially we thought it was a hoax. Turns out, not so much. After contacting the shared-rental service about the ad, Airbnb spokesperson Christopher Nulty sent Engadget the following statement: "The intent was to show the hotel tax contribution from our hosts and guests, which is roughly $1 million per month. It was the wrong tone and we apologize to anyone who was offended. These ads are being taken down immediately." The photo was posted to Facebook and quickly spread to Twitter where it's been condemned by librarians and the public at large.
Airbnb bought a Russian design studio and nobody knows why
Russian design firm Lapka sent out a Tweet yesterday announcing that it had been acquired by Airbnb, confusing all of those who were faced with the black and white mock up image publicizing the partnership. The $24 billion home rental service has been investing a lot of its time and energy into shaping its company identity: from a change of logo to offering hosts products to better their properties. But looking at the products that Lapka has released in the past: a smartphone-assisted breathalyzer and concept sensor nodes for Google's Project Ara phone, we're left wondering what the two companies will produce.
Airbnb's Apple Watch app focuses on putting hosts and guests in touch
The last year or so has seen Airbnb put a major focus behind design, from its company logo and identity to new apps for phones and tablets. Now, it's putting its attention towards a new platform: wearables. Starting today, the iOS Airbnb app is compatible with the Apple Watch. Fortunately, Airbnb put a lot of thought into what features would make the most sense living on your wrist rather than try and cram the entire experience onto the smallest screen in your life. To that end, the first iteration of Airbnb's Watch app will focus primarily on messaging, so hosts and guests can stay in touch quickly.
Tesla will give free chargers to select Airbnb hosts (update)
Tesla is teaming up with Airbnb to give customers staying for a vacation in the West Coast some peace of mind. The automaker plans to give free chargers to over 100 Airbnb hosts in the region, particularly those renting out premium properties. There are already 12 entries in the list of Tesla-ready houses, but Airbnb's still accepting applications from those who want to install one. Only candidates that are renting out whole properties, have had at least five bookings and a four-star rating are eligible, though, and even then they might not be among the hosts* (see update below the fold) chosen for the project. That said anyone who gets picked will still have to shell out a few hundred bucks: neither Tesla nor Airbnb will cover the $200 to $900 installation fee.
Airbnb staff will always call police when you're in an emergency
When you rent a place on Airbnb, you're always taking on some risk. You're trusting a stranger to house you, after all. However, the home-as-hotel company is learning the hard way that it should help out if you're in trouble. Airbnb is responding to the reported sexual assault of a guest in Madrid by "clarifying" its policy on emergencies, according to the New York Times -- staffers will always have to call the police if you tell them that there's a crisis. The Madrid victim's mother was told to call the cops herself, which may have cost valuable time and allowed more trauma.
We're hosting a Q&A with the US Labor Secretary about the 'gig economy'
Services like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Postmates are hallmarks of what's being called the "gig economy." And while presidential candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that companies like these are "unleashing innovation," they've also raised questions about workplace protections. So, to answer some of your questions (and ours), we're hosting a Facebook Q&A this Monday, July 27th at 5PM ET with Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
Recommended Reading: The influence of the 'Super Mario Bros.' soundtrack
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. How Video Games Influenced Popular Music by Hua Hsu The New Yorker Andrew Schartmann's new book, Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack, discusses how Nintendo's first dedicated sound designer completely changed music in games. Kondo's iconic music for that title not only provided some of the most memorable tunes of the era, but also influenced gaming and music for many years after. The New Yorker offers a brief glimpse at the book, explaining how Kondo's work changed video game development, too. "As a result of the collaboration behind Super Mario, during which graphics and audio were developed in tandem, games became more of an all-sensory experience," notes Hua Hsu.
San Francisco is serious about Airbnb regulation
Since San Francisco is all about startups, it's no surprise that the city changed its laws to accommodate one of its most successful: Airbnb. Last year, officials passed the so-called "Airbnb law," legalising short-term rentals of private property with a lot of caveats. Hosts complained that the new rules were inconvenient, so the city is creating a new taskforce to make the regulations easier to follow and catch those breaking the law.
Ford wants customers to rent their cars to other people
Although Ford's main business is selling cars, it also operates a number of other services that help people do more with them. It's app-based GoDrive service already allows Brits to rent a car on a pay-as-you-go basis, but now it's experimenting with letting its US and UK customers rent their own vehicles out to other people and offset the money against their car payments. Today, it's inviting 12,000 Londoners and a further 14,000 US customers from Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago and Washington D.C. to join its new scheme.
Airbnb rolls out a pricing recommendation tool for hosts
If you try to book a hotel room in San Diego in September, you can probably get one for around $200-300 a night. If you try to do the same in mid-July during Comic-Con? You'll likely have to cough up close to $1,000 a night, and that's if you can get a room at all. If you're an Airbnb host, it'd behoove you to know about these sorts of surges in demand, so you can price your room appropriately. Today, Airbnb has rolled out a tool called Price Tips that lets you do just that. It utilizes Airbnb's own machine learning tool called Aerosolve that'll suggest room pricing based on the demand for rooms, its location, travel trends, the listing type and so forth.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: rain lamps and solar-powered pod homes
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Everything about Tesla is groundbreaking, including its direct-sales model. Laws in New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Michigan have sought to prevent the electric carmaker from bypassing third-party dealerships and selling cars directly to customers. Last week, Tesla scored a big win in Maryland, when the state's governor signed a bill allowing the company to operate its own dealerships in the state. In other green transportation news, a 28-year-old woman is preparing to row all the way from Japan to San Francisco in a rowboat, with no support vessel. Airplane manufacturers have yet to unlock the potential of 3D-printing airplane parts, but the engineers at GE Aviation recently conducted a test, offering a possible glimpse of the future. The team created a mini jet engine that can roar up to 33,000 RPM, and it comes right out of a 3D printer.
Airbnb is floating a liveable house down the River Thames
If you happen to be in London this week, we recommend keeping one eye locked on the Thames. Airbnb is sailing a bright blue house down the iconic river to celebrate the passing of the Deregulation Act, which gives London residents permission to "share" their property for up to 90 days each year. Best of all, you can actually live in Airbnb's unusual floating home -- it comes with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room, as well as a small garden complete with lawn, trees and a dog kennel. Of course, this is just a publicity stunt, but it's a creative one that could brighten up London's iconic landmark. Airbnb is also letting a lucky few spend the night in the house this Friday, with just a few important house rules; no swimming in the Thames, no floating house parties and "no floating away." I wonder if that last one includes tying hundreds of colourful balloons to the roof?
San Francisco mayor proposes 120 day caps on Airbnb rentals
As San Francisco's housing crisis continues to pit long-term residents against the recent influx of affluent tech employees, Airbnb and other short-term rentals have become a source of tension. Today San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Mark Farrell hoped to ease some of that tension by introducing reforms to the city's short-term rental laws that put a 120 day yearly cap on all short-term rentals. The package of amendments also introduced the creation of a new Office of Short-Term Rental Administration and Enforcement for the city staff to "coordinate in the administration and aggressive enforcement of the law."
Airbnb arrives in Cuba with US-only listings
Airbnb has joined Netflix and other American companies doing business in Cuba. The move marks the most significant US business expansion to the Caribbean island since the Obama administration began normalizing relations with the nation, according to the Associated Press. The private rental outfit has high hopes for the region, saying "we believe that Cuba could become one of Airbnb's biggest markets in Latin America." Over 1,000 listings are now up on the site, with 40 percent of those in Havana and the rest in nearby tourist spots on the Southern coast.
