Airbnb paid a tourist $7 million after she alleged that she was raped at knifepoint at a rental property in Manhattan, near Times Square in New York. The unnamed Australian woman said the incident occurred when she was visiting New York City along with her friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve in 2015. The incident is one among the several ‘horrific’ or ‘unpleasant’ incidents in the rentals, mentioned in a Bloomberg report that was published on Tuesday.
The victim and her friends picked up the keys to the rental property from a nearby shop. A 24-year-old identified by the police as Junior Lee raped her at knifepoint after she returned to the apartment on her own following the new year celebration. Lee, who pleaded not guilty, has been charged with predatory sexual assault and could face up to life in prison.
After the incident, Airbnb moved the victim to a hotel, flew her mother in from Australia and offered to cover for any health or counselling costs.
The BBC reported that the suspect had duplicate keys—the issue has posed a problem for Airbnb as the company hasn’t overhauled its rules on keys and where the hosts may leave them. The $7 million compensation is one of the biggest payouts the company has ever made. The payment was made two years after the alleged incident and the victim was asked not to imply responsibility on Airbnb or the host.
In another unpleasant incident, a host found a guest naked in bed with his seven-year-old daughter. In 2018, a guest from Florida, who was renting a property in Costa Rica, was murdered by a security guard in the apartment complex.
As per the Bloomberg report, the company, on average, pays up to $50 million to guests in legal settlements and to cover damages to hosts’ homes.
