for a month at wired (back in the Before Times) my colleagues graciously looked the other way while i constructed a 7 foot tall murder board in the middle of the office...— paris martineau (@parismartineau) August 19, 2020
today, i published the insane story that the board led me to:https://t.co/gJphkkO30P pic.twitter.com/sHB83fI2Yb
meet Barney: he's a "laid back marketing manager" who has hosted 100s of guests since 2016— paris martineau (@parismartineau) August 19, 2020
only problem? he doesn't exist (profile pic is a google search result for "normal looking guy")
barney & 20+ legit-seeming hosts were fronts for Domio, a startup https://t.co/gJphkkO30P pic.twitter.com/JJnYZ73FL1
domio used the IDs of friends & employees to create a giant network of "verified" airbnb accounts. it used these accounts to leave fake reviews on its own listings, list legally questionable properties & avoid detection— paris martineau (@parismartineau) August 19, 2020
airbnb guests were none the wiserhttps://t.co/gJphkkO30P pic.twitter.com/vAsJCJbl67
domio made millions of dollars in revenue from reservations booked through these secret accounts, despite the fact they violated airbnb's rules, and in some cases were in violation of New York law— paris martineau (@parismartineau) August 19, 2020
airbnb never caught them.... until we asked the company for comment on this story. pic.twitter.com/oT6QiopT55