Airbnb allowed rampant price gouging following L.A. fires, city attorney alleges

Summary

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb, accusing the home-sharing platform of allowing price gouging and unverified hosts and addresses at more than 2,000 rentals following the January firestorm in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. In a statement, L.A. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office accused Airbnb of allowing illegal rental price hikes and permitting false and nonexistent hosts and addresses on the platform. The lawsuit seeks a permanent order to halt Airbnb from hiking up prices during the existing state of emergency, as well as reimbursement for consumers who were charged higher rates.“Although Airbnb subsequently took steps to curtail price gouging, evidence indicates that illegal gouging on the site continues and may be ongoing,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement announcing the civil enforcement action. “Airbnb is aware that its verification processes are inadequate … potentially luring prospective tenants into a false sense of security about its hosts and locations.”Airbnb disputed the lawsuit’s accusations, saying the platform has played a consistent role in supporting victims with financial aid following the wildfires.“Since the wildfires broke out, Airbnb … contributed nearly $30 million to fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles, including free emergency housing to nearly 24,000 people impacted by the fires,” an Airbnb spokesperson told The Times. “We will continue supporting the city of Los Angeles in its recovery and rebuilding efforts.”The lawsuit seeks fines of $2,500 for each instance of alleged price gouging in L.A., which could reach between 2,000 and 3,000 properties, or up to $7.5 million in total penalties.The lawsuit also alleges that Airbnb’s “inadequate” verification processes left users vulnerable to offenses such as identity theft, robbery, sexual assault, invasion of privacy and voyeurism. Airbnb did not respond to an inquiry from The Times regarding those claims. The unverified and “nonexistent” host...