airbnb

Buzz Out Loud 1522: Is there ice cream for WiFi Day? (Podcast)

It's 8-02-11 (in U.S. style date parlance, we know), and therefore it's WiFi Day ... we don't know what that means, but Molly's planning to get some ice cream out of it! Plus, Android malware that can record your phone calls and free WiFi in London, thanks to Virgin Media. Plus, the New Yorker is a winner on the iPad and the MacBook Air is a winner with our show hosts.

Airbnb revamps policies in response to vandalism

Travel marketplace Airbnb is making changes to its policies following a recent incident in which a member's apartment was ransacked by a guest.

The company plays matchmaker to people looking for a place to stay on vacation and those renting out their own homes or apartments. Airbnb has grown in popularity, but a recent vandalism and theft highlighted the pitfalls of using such a service.

A woman known only as "EJ" rented out her San Francisco apartment to a guest through Airbnb in June. After her guest left, EJ discovered that her home had been vandalized and … Read more

This Day in Tech: Square handles $4M in transactions a day; Microsoft pulls back access to location data

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Monday, August 1.

Mobile payment company Square is handling $4 million a day in transactions, up $1 million more than the company handled in May. But don't let numbers fool you, Square still has a ways to go to prove itself: credit companies process billions of dollars in payments.

Location data gets a little more private. Microsoft restricts its practice of publishing Wi-Fi locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other devices after a CNET article highlighted privacy … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1521: Internet Explorer IS for dummies (Podcast)

On today's show, the sad news that even those of you who are grandfathered in to AT&T's unlimited plans will be subject to throttling. sorry. Also, Adobe tries to future-proof itself with a new HTML5 Web animation tool, the darknet is not your mom's social network, and RIM doesn't make pizzas.

Plane-in-a-tree is the perfect getaway for Airbnb

The folks at Airbnb could probably use a nice relaxing night away from it all, and I have just the place.

Last week was a roller-coaster ride for the company, which connects people looking for a room with people willing to rent theirs out. It started with raising over $100 million in additional financing and ended with a bad PR firestorm as the story of the trashing of one woman's apartment by an Airbnb renter went viral.

Now that it appears a suspect is in custody, perhaps it's time for a company retreat to get away from it all, debrief, and recharge the batteries. Fortunately, there's a place called Costa Rica that I'm pretty sure was invented for just this kind of occasion. And even more fortunate for the folks at Airbnb, one of their users has made this unbelievable treehouse suite available.… Read more

SF police arrest suspect in trashing of Airbnb rental

A 19-year-old woman was arrested late last month in connection with an investigation into the theft and trashing of property from an apartment that had been rented out via a Web site rental service, San Francisco police confirmed to CNET today.

The arrest stems from an incident a San Francisco woman blogged about on June 29. The woman, who goes by EJ, wrote that she rented her apartment out to a stranger through the Airbnb site and returned home to find her place trashed and her jewelry, electronics, money, and other valuables missing. The post went viral this week, prompting … Read more

Airbnb horror story goes from bad to worse

A few days ago, one Airbnb member's horror story of her home being ransacked went viral. Now she has spoken out again--and things aren't any better.

In case you're not familiar with the account, basically, a woman named "EJ" in San Francisco rented out her apartment while she was on vacation. When she returned, she found her home trashed and vandalized, with some of her most personal belongings as well as several documents related to her identity stolen.

Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky responded publicly, albeit briefly at first, saying that they would pledge their … Read more

The 404 870: Where we've gone to ludicrous speed (podcast)

Nintendo just announced disappointing sales of its 3DS hand-held gaming device, and a discounted sticker price to go along with it. Is an $80 drop and 20 free games enough to build momentum for the tepid gaming device?

Check out today's show to find out, and to also hear about an AirBnB user's home getting completely thrashed, the hubris of Domino's 7x7x7 deal, and our tips for Colin Farrell in the remake of the movie "Total Recall."

The 404 Digest for Episode 870

Airbnb.com user's home gets completely trashed. Nintendo slashes 3DS price to $169.99.

Episode 870 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Travel marketplace Airbnb raises $112 million

Airbnb, an online marketplace where travelers can find and book places to stay around the world, has picked up $112 million in financing, a move designed to help it grow in the U.S. and abroad.

The company will use the $112 million in Series B financing from investors Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, and General Catalyst to enhance its U.S. online community and expand and hire more people internationally. This latest round of capital adds to the $7.2 million raised on behalf of Sequoia Capital and Greylock in November, bringing the total investment to $119.8 million.

Airbnb … Read more