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Airbnb Stories

Yet another cautionary tale about the chaotic gig economy. Part of the standard Airbnb check-in process will now include a sweep for hidden surveillance devices. There will be apps for this specific purpose in no time that will allow the guest to gather evidence and report the infractions. Once that issue is solved, there will no doubt be others - there are plenty of horror stories around. 

 The whole system is based on the premise that most people will do the right thing most of the time - guests and hosts. While that be a fundamentally sound premise, things start to get wonky as the numbers climb and the processes that once worked begin to fail. And the companies in question try not to solve the problems until a critical mass is achieved. Easier to apologize and return to business as usual as Facebook has demonstrated time and again. The players in the gig economy have to find a way to make this work despite all the bad press swirling around.
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