Airbnb horror revealed in Channel 4 documentary which explores the sites dark side
Airbnb: Dream or Nightmare? airs on Channel 4 tonight (21 September).
Airbnb is often a byword in exotic travel to expensive locations but with the benefit of budget accommodation. With the Kardashian clan, Beyonce and Miley Cyrus raving about the site via social media pages like it's the best thing since sliced bread,the question on everyone's lips: is it all sunshine and rainbows?
Last year, in the UK alone, 80,000 people listed their property on the site. Tonight's Channel 4 documentary Airbnb: Dream or Nightmare? investigates the darker side to the travel site. It aims to explore its impact on the rental market amid claims that it is pushing up prices and turning residential areas into tourist zones.
The insightful programme will also look at users' positive and negative experiences of using the website: from valuable extra income, to houses ruined by out-of-control parties and stolen prized possessions. We'll also glimpse inappropriate behaviour and envisage substandard accommodation - the kind of which Kim K would definitely not tolerate.
There is a heart-sinking moment when – after four guests claim they are staying there for a wedding – a Canadian family's house is trashed with footage showing that, in fact, they threw a huge party and left the property in a state.
The property's owner said of the nightmare: "If they didn't come through with their guarantee, it would have looked very bad," after being forced to shell out for repairs.
Airbnb – which was founded in August 2008 by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia and headquartered in San Francisco – has over 1.5m listings in 34,000 cities and 191 countries.
It has grown in popularity substantially in recent years – offering a more personable alternative to hotels or hostels. The documentary won't put the minds at ease of those dubious of listing property but for a site we've only really heard great things about there certainly seems an ominous side to it.
Make your mind up yourself and watch Airbnb: Dream or Nightmare? on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight (21 September).
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