Airbnb Apparently Has A Secret Team That Pays Out Over $50 MILLION Per Year To Keep Disastrous Stays Out Of The Press

Source - Airbnb has a secretive team to keep disaster stays out of the press and gives staff blank checks to help rape victims and pay to clean up dismembered human remains, according to a report. 

The short-term property rental company, which went public in December, has spent an estimated $50 million every year on payouts to hosts and guests when things go wrong, according to Bloomberg Businessweek which interviewed several former members of the secretive safety team.  

The team - known as the 'black box' inside the firm - is made up of around 100 agents across cities including Dublin, Montreal and Singapore, several of whom have backgrounds in the military or emergency services.

Team members have the power to spend any amount tackling the worst crises at their rentals including sexual assaults, murders and deaths - providing support to guests and hosts and also working to keep the incidents out of the public eye, Bloomberg reported.

Ummm...what? Dismembered human remains? Blank checks to rape victims? The silencing of guests using large amounts of money? And this is all run by the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the CIA? He must be doing a great job considering we haven't heard a single piece of bad PR from Airbnb literally ever but still, how often is this stuff happening? It has to be way more frequent than we think in order for them to form an entire team to combat it. Regardless, it makes sense. You go into someone's home, which they have a spare key to, and hope that they leave you alone. There's no front desk, no security, and many of these homes are off the beaten path making them susceptible to crime. Not only that, you're sleeping in someone else's filth, which is why I've always been team hotel. When I go on vacation I want to be taken care of. Pampered. I want room service in the morning and fresh towels and night. Not some weirdo watching me through his ring camera every time I leave the house. 

Here's part of what they spend the $50 million on...

The team has covered costs including for counseling, new accommodation, flights, and sexually transmitted disease tests and health costs for rape survivors among other things, according to the report.

One year after Stefaniak's murder, five people were shot dead at a Halloween mansion party at an Airbnb in Orinda, California. 

More than 100 people had gathered for the unauthorized party when the shooting unfolded.

Members of rival gangs from San Francisco and Marin City were among those at the party, authorities said.  

Tiyon Farley, 22, of Antioch; Omar Taylor, 24, of Pittsburg; Raymon Hill Jr., 23, of San Francisco and Oakland; Javlin County, 29, of Sausalito and Richmond; and Oshiana Tompkins, 19, of Vallejo and Hercules, all died. 

Airbnb said it would pay for the funerals of the victims.

^The rest is too grizzly to include in the blog but you can read about it here. Also, Nick Shaprio, ex National Security Advisor to Barack Obama, said the stuff he was dealing with at Airbnb reminded him of his time in the White House Situation Room. Let that sink in. It's a crazy story all around. So be careful out there, people. You never know what lurks right around the corner.