(Photo Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty)
Two incidents around the holiday season plagued Airbnb.
In Marshall, North Carolina, four people were stabbed at 183 Gid Flynn Road, The WSPA reported. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, including one charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily harm with intent to kill and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily harm. The others were charged with drug offences.
Deputies responded to the rental at 3:21 a.m. Monday morning, according to FOX Caroline. Four people were treated with stab wounds following the attack, which was considered an isolated incident.
Airbnb released a statement saying it would investigate the incident and “remove the booking guest from our platform.” The company also said it contacted the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to support the investigation.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is also involved in the investigation.
Meanwhile, a Christmas reservation has become a nightmare for an unsuspecting family and landlord in Philadelphia.
Local resident Molly Flaherty saw four people huddled together outside her home while on vacation, fearing possible burglars, Insider reported. She learned that Nicole Brunet had booked Flaherty’s house on Airbnb, although Flaherty never listed the property on the site.
The scam involved an “account takeover”, when a scammer steals an Airbnb owner’s password. A company representative told the publication that the listing was not fake, but outdated and likely reactivated by the scammer.
This led to a host of problems for Flaherty. The owner claimed it took Airbnb a week to remove the listing, forcing her to put a note on the door to ward off potential victims of the scam. The listing was not removed until the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the issue; Flaherty was not contacted when the post was deleted, which Airbnb attributed to third-party privacy concerns.
Brunet received a full refund from the company, but declined its offer to book another rental for his family, opting instead to pay for a hotel room out of his own pocket.
— HoldenWalter Warner
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