My Gripe with Airbnb

UPDATE: Got a reply. It's at the bottom.

I recently returned from a trip to San Francisco and had an unpleasant experience with my host. Well, hot him, but his flat. I won't go into details, suffice to say that it was nothing like it looked in the photos. Nothing. And it smelt. 

I was unable to leave a review until I arrived back home in Copenhagen, and presumed that the reason I hadn't seen one from him was because our reviews were kept private by Airbnb until both parties had written them, thereby eliminating any bias from a possible negative review. I wrote my rather negative and honest review, but still couldn't see a review from him. I contacted Airbnb just to make sure that my presumptions about their system were correct, but alas, they weren't. 

Firstly, on Twitter, I was directed to their FAQs which drives me mad. Answer my question. Don't just do what your website does.

Secondly, more frustratingly, the don't keep reviews private. Here's the reply I got.

Hello Lara,

Thanks for your question. I'm sorry your experience wasn't great and definitely encourage honesty in your review.

The host sees it before reviewing you if you write it first. The host may write a review first that you would see. It's all dependent on whom writes and submits earlier.

We do require reviews stick to the facts (for host as well).

When creating a review, we ask that you stick to the facts. The best reviews provide constructive information that helps the community make better decisions and is educational for the host or guest in question. We strongly discourage personal insults, opinion that’s not backed up by examples, or generally unsociable behavior.

Our community is built on trust, and trust comes from honest conversation. Therefore, we ask for reviews that are truthful, clear, and helpful to both the review’s recipient and the wider Airbnb community.

If your host responded with anything outside our review guidelines, we would ask him to amend it or remove it.

See our FAQ for more information about the review process: www.airbnb.com/help/question/13

Best regards

I can't for the life of me figure out why they don't keep the reviews private. What is the benefit? Surely it would be far more fair and honest if reviews were written without any influence at all? 

What could possibly be the benefit of doing it the way they are? If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears, but until then, I'm extremely disappointed, and won't be doing my reviewing until I've read the other.

UPDATE

Got this back on Twitter. I understand their standpoint, but do feel that there must be a way of working around both issues. I'll give it some thought. If I remember.

Curation - Yes, Again

Came across this on the wonderful Brain Pickings.

"First things first — “curation” is a terrible term. It has been used so frivolously and applied so indiscriminately that it’s become vacant of meaning. But I firmly believe that the ethos at its core — a drive to find the interesting, meaningful, and relevant amidst the vast maze of overabundant information, creating a framework for what matters in the world and why — is an increasingly valuable form of creative and intellectual labor, a form of authorship that warrants thought."

Agree enitrely. But then I watched the film and got confused. 

As I've said before, I'm not a fan of the word 'curation', and while the idea behind this video is one I agree with (see quote above) the quotes from the film, below, seem to contradict it, to some extent, and to land us right back in the mess of 'if everyone's curating, who's curating?' 

"For me the role of a curatir is to fint the most interesting things within this massive onslaught of messy information." Rex Sorgatz

"We all started our sites by writing to ourselves but at some point you've got to give that mix of stuff that you like and you think is interesring and then also thinking about what will the audience appreciate." Piers Fawkes

Ideas are the most valuable thing. Good ones make all the difference; bad ones can hold us back, maybe even destroy us. If we can focus on finding the right ones, helping distill them, and transfer them as quickly as possible, we can get more of that. Curation is that means to the end.” Peter Hopkins

QR Code Fail #398452930

Below is an advert for the Danish support service Livslinien. If you're feeling suicidal, they're there to help. The ad features a suicide note from a father to his son, and while it's great that they're letting people know they're there to help, I can't help but feel that the QR code is totally and utterly redundant. The magazine version, as below, is just about acceptable, but the worst thing is that the outdoor ad is exactly the same. I'm talking outdoor in the middle of a busy shopping street. Feeling suicidal? Why not let everyone else know? 

I will try to take a photo of the outdoor one next time I see it. I'll just be sure to do it subtly.