# What the fuck has happened with Airbnb?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [August 10, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261 "2026-08-10T02:55:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [September 15, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/81 "2026-09-15T23:15:57Z")
We’ve stayed at VRBOs for years and only had issues once or twice, and that was because the house was far less convenient and comfortable than they looked in the photos. VRBO has never asked us to upload our IDs or photos (so far), nor have we had any crappy unresponsive hosts. I do much prefer staying at places where the host is an actual nearby person and not a corporate entity. We’ve actually become friends with the host of a place we’ve stayed at many, many times, and exchange holiday cards with her.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/82 "2026-09-16T12:11:59Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> but they would tuck the shit out of the sheets to the point where I really had to pry those sheets **hard** to get them loose enough to be comfortable to sleep under,
Many hotels still do this, just not every day (unless you request extra services). I guess they look tidy that way, but I’ve never understood the appeal. I don’t even make my bed at home except when i wash the sheets (maybe straighten the covers a bit if i want a smooth service to pack my suitcase or sort socks) and even then, i just tuck in the bottom, not the sides, because… Why?
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### Author:  [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/83 "2026-09-16T16:21:51Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> I never let housekeeping in my room…Do Not Disturb sign on the door the whole time. I am fine with one set of sheets and towels for a week.
Same. If I need more towels I just grab them from the housekeeping cart in the hall or get them from the front desk.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/84 "2026-09-17T14:25:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> i just tuck in the bottom, not the sides, because… Why?
Factual (AFAICT) answer: Making hospital corners and then tucking the sides of bedlinens under the mattress is a fast and efficient way to construct a smooth stable surface that makes the top bedspread look smooth and neat. No worrying about sheet edges peeking out from under the skirts of the bedspread, etc.
Fast(est) undo: Remove bedspread, grasp the top edge of the topsheet turnover (with any enclosed blankets) right at the side of the mattress, pull out the tucked-in linens along mattress edge down to the bed foot in an “unzip” motion. Yank out the hospital corner at the foot too if you really want to go wild ‘n’ free. Repeat on other side.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Airbnb rant. 😁
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/85 "2026-09-17T14:32:08Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> I definitely remember this, to the point where I got annoyed because I’d leave my hotel during the day and come back with everything on the bed replaced and tucked back in. Which sounds nice, but they would tuck the shit out of the sheets to the point where I really had to pry those sheets **hard** to get them loose enough to be comfortable to sleep under, and at that point I was exhausted from whatever I had been doing earlier in the day and hated it.
This is when you request [turndown service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turndown_service).
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/86 "2026-09-17T14:55:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> This is when you request [turndown service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turndown_service).
The one good thing is that they _did_ leave a mint. I’m pretty sure it was an [Andes mint](https://theandesmints.com/). They were pretty awesome. That was the only thing I appreciated about that service.
Also, I just now learned that Andes mints are made by the Tootsie Roll company (though they haven’t always been; they were independent, then bought by a Swiss company, then sold to Kraft, then sold to Brach’s, and most recently to Tootsie Roll in 2000).
Also also, the name is interesting… They were started by a guy named Andrew Kanelos, and he sold them from his store “Andy’s Candies” (that name is awesome IMHO) but the story is that the guys buying boxes of candy to give to women did not like another guy’s name on the box. (It was the 1920s so go figure.) So he changed the store to “Andes Candies”, and that was also the original name of the company making the mints. The mints themselves have a picture of a mountain range on them, implying the Andes Mountains, and they always have as far as I’ve known them. But it’s really because they were created by a guy named Andy.
Anyway, back to griping about Airbnb!
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/87 "2026-09-17T15:15:04Z")
Well, when you rent an Airbnb, you don’t have random staff showing up to make your bed. I guess that’s something in its favor.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2026, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/88 "2026-09-18T10:21:43Z")
But you don’t know if they have a hidden camera or not, so that’s a downside.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/89 "2026-09-18T12:34:31Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#):
>
> so that’s a downside.
For some people. 😁
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### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/90 "2026-09-20T13:57:44Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#):
>
> But you don’t know if they have a hidden camera or not, so that’s a downside.
To be fair, you don’t know if your hotel room has a hidden camera either. In fact, per lots of movies, it’s pretty easy to install one to catch people doing things they shouldn’t.
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/91 "2026-09-20T14:58:43Z")
Yeah, but hotels have a greater
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/92 "2026-09-20T15:01:27Z")
Ooops: got posted before I finished.
It’s true that anything could happen anywhere, but the problem with Airbnb is that you are getting random strangers as owners with little vetting.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/93 "2026-09-20T15:05:45Z")
Who vetted Norman Bates?
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/94 "2026-09-20T16:20:17Z")
If your hotel does something illegal, they have a boatload of reputation to lose and probably hundreds of millions or even billions in assets to go after.
Your Airbnb host can probably have the property listed under their brother’s name in 48 hours, with no visible (to the user) connection to the malfeasor.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/95 "2026-09-20T21:27:54Z")
I question this. It’s true an individual home owner might be willing to offer shoddy service and not worry about their reputation. But Airbnb the corporation is representing thousands of home owners and it’s looking at the big picture. If an individual home owner does something bad to a renter, Airbnb is going to step in rather than let that guy tarnish the entire business.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-fuck-has-happened-with-airbnb/1032261/96 "2026-09-20T22:10:10Z")
I know someone who got kicked off Airbnb (not for secret cameras but for racial discrimination). He just rented the condo to his brother, and then just listed it under a different account.
This was four or five years ago, so maybe they are doing more checks now. But at least at that time there were no physical checks or inspections. And this is in one of the most consumer and renter friendly states in the country.
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