Ask HN: Is Airbnb Scamming Users?

5 points·html5web··5 comments

I watched on the news that Airbnb renting Home Alone house, and the booking was supposed to launch December 7, 2021, at 2 pm EST. I waited the moment, but was disappointed when I saw no availability. Here’s a link to the property https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/53274539?source_impression_id=p3_1638880986_vk%2BM6B6U%2F%2BINZzvK&guests=1&adults=1#availability-calendar

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It was only available for a single one-night booking. Think about refreshing a browser page to buy popular sneakers or concert tickets right when they go on sale, except in this case there's a total inventory of 1 product for sale. From the listing:

> I’m inviting one crew of mischief makers to let their inner eight-year-olds run free in my childhood home on Dec. 12. Booking for this one-night stay opens Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. C.T.*

Despite the listing's "This is not a contest" disclaimer, with the under-market rate, included Lego set and the single night of availability, it's pretty clearly a promotion tied to Disney's Home Sweet Home Alone movie:

> Then, when you’re ready to wind down, you can enjoy a viewing of the film franchise’s newest holiday adventure, Home Sweet Home Alone, on Disney+.

How has Airbnb not taken this down yet? This sounds and looks kind like the Tuscan Milk item on Amazon, except that was all user-generated content, while this looks like either a scam or a joke, which are both probably against Airbnb's criteria for being listed...

It’s a promotion run by Airbnb. Not sure why this post is on the front page as it’s clearly not a scam. They’ve run similar promotions in the past and the poster simply didn’t get a booking in time.

Why is this in the homepage?

Maybe its super fast bots?

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