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Airbnb is part of a new wave of businesses in which online and mobile apps connect individuals who provide services to each other. Airbnb lets homeowners and apartment owners rent out their homes to travelers, just as sites like Uber allow people to earn income by offering transportation in their vehicles.

Companies like Uber and Airbnb do not provide the services themselves, but they help facilitate connections in what has come to be dubbed the “sharing economy.” The question is, however, “What legal responsibilities do Airbnb and similar businesses have when things go wrong?”

One recent horrific attack has brought this question to the forefront. The New York Times reported that a 19-year-old who was staying with an Airbnb host in Madrid was locked into a fourth-floor apartment. The host had removed the key, was rattling knives and was trying to force the 19-year-old to submit to a sexual act.

The teen asked his mother for help, but the mother’s desperate phone call to Airbnb was unsuccessful. Airbnb wouldn’t call the police or give the mother the address where her son was staying, but instead told her to contact Madrid Police and have them call Airbnb. The number they gave her for the police led to a recording in Spanish that disconnected her and her additional calls to Airbnb to try to resolve the problem ended up going to voicemail.

The 19-year-old American teen said he was sexually assaulted before he finally got free and he is now in trauma therapy. His Airbnb host denies the attack, but the incident still raises complex questions about whether Airbnb had some obligation to the teen that it failed to fulfill. 

Answers about the responsibility of companies providing connections in a sharing economy are still evolving as lawsuits are filed and laws are passed and Ft. Myers personal injury lawyers like Randall Spivey can help victims move forward with cases to recover compensation and help shape the laws on liability.

The Responsibility of Airbnb and Similar Services

Airbnb promotes the company’s security measures in offering its services to guests, which means the company likely assumes at least some responsibility and could be held accountable if it is negligent in failing to live up to its obligations to help protect guests.

According to the NY Times article on the incident, Airbnb has indicated that the manner in which the recent attack was handled was inappropriate and states that the company is clarifying its policies to avoid similar problems in the future.  Airbnb has promised to make sure its employees are now aware that the police should be called whenever an emergency-in-progress is reported. 

The company also claimed competing safety procedures were the cause of the problem in responding. Policies allow sexual assault victims to make their own determination on when and how to report crimes, but the company also will turn over information quickly when requested by police or when crimes are in progress. Employees of Airbnb reportedly thought the assault had already taken place when the victim’s mother called, which was why they reacted as they did.

The same NY Times article indicates that as part of its justification for its poor response to the serious attack, Airbnb also said approximately 800,000 people were staying with Airbnb hosts worldwide during the weekend when the attack took place. With such large volumes, it seems the company would have difficulty ensuring uniform safety and security precautions are followed.

The law is not yet clear on exactly when (or if) services like Airbnb will be held accountable if their procedures or policies are considered negligent or if their company is viewed as violating a legal duty in a manner that harms its customers. 

That said, victims need to get help from personal injury lawyers in Ft. Myers who have experience in complicated cases if they wish to pursue a claim for damage after getting hurt using services in the new sharing economy. An experienced attorney can help to make a compelling legal argument for why Airbnb and its similar counterparts should be held liable for damages and losses. If you have questions or concerns, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. as soon as possible.