With every service and product launched out there, there are bound to be those who want to make a quick buck by running scams. For example eBay scams are pretty common, and so are Airbnb scams which can affect both guests looking to book an accommodation, and hosts who are looking to rent out their properties.
However in a report from Bloomberg, it seems that Airbnb will be bolstering its background checking efforts through an acquisition of a company called Trooly. If you’ve never heard of them, we guess we can’t really blame you, but basically they are a startup that specializes in background checks by using data from public records, social media, and so on. Basically the idea is to pull as much information as possible to help paint a more accurate picture.
As Bloomberg notes, Airbnb has struggled with scammers in the past, where people have posed as property owners and rented out property and collected money on places they do not own. This has resulted in guests showing up to locations only to find that they have been duped out of their money and accommodation.
As to how much Airbnb might have acquired Trooly for, the company declined to mentioned, but speaking to Bloomberg, Airbnb spokesman Tim Rathschmidt said, “We look forward to welcoming the Trooly team to Airbnb in the coming weeks.” Exactly how Airbnb will be integrating Trooly’s services in the booking/renting process remains to be seen.