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This is the first big PR blow-up for Airbnb, but they are not a brand new company any more and they had to expect that they would have an event like this (or even worse, a rape or murder) that would raise questions about their business model and force them to respond publicly. The weak response to date shows that either A) they weren't anticipating this likely bump in the road or, B) they were anticipating it and their gameplan was to try to cover it up. Either of those circumstances is disappointing to me.

Or C, they had a plan for it, but when it actually happened they panicked, forgot the plan, and stuck their foot in it up to their armpit. Many people who have not had to deal with sudden difficulties don't seem to realize just how strong the tendency is to forget plans, intentions, and just do whatever you first think of. That is why serious martial artists, the military, and EMTs train, and train, and train some more. They have to respond correctly even when they aren't expecting problems to crop up.

> Also, in regard to the so called "coverup", it's totally natural when someone says bad things about you on the internet to ask them to take them down. That's not a "cover up". That's "being human". Imagine if someone posted a diatribe against one of your children. As a parent, wouldn't you want to get that taken down? Airbnb is these guys' baby.

It's totally natural, but it's dishonest. It's destroying the historical record. It's depriving the public of their opportunity to make up their own minds about what the truth is. Cheating and stealing and killing are part of "being human", too, but that doesn't mean we have to condone them.

> No. Some terrible human being who should be in jail is at fault here.

Not really, at least where the unfolding PR catastrophe is concerned.

>I used to have a knee jerk reaction and email people asking them to take things down.

And how well did that work out for you (and your dad)? The knee-jerk reaction is as primitive and counterproductive as it is understandable. The AirBnB founders aren't naifs to the Internet. They understand the Streisand Effect. It might be understandable for them to want EJ to take down her blog post. But to actually go out and ask her? That's inviting trouble, and the executives at AirBnB had to have known that.

It never worked. :)

>Also, in regard to the so called "coverup", it's totally natural when someone says bad things about you on the internet to ask them to take them down. That's not a "cover up". That's "being human".

I believe PG used the word "bullshit" in his slander against Arrington's reporting. This isn't PG's "first rodeo" either and so such strong words can't easily be chalked up to just "being human" IMHO.

Arrington's a report and PG's an investor. They both have their motives for acting/reacting in certain ways.

I think the mistake being made here is to assume that any party is necessarily "great people" without actually knowing them personally (YC, AirBnb, Arrington, PG, etc.). Even EJ has motivations in making as much noise as possible (ie. her compensation for damages will likely be much better now).