sharing-economy / 8 posts found
Uber’s days without drama resets back to zero
Your scandal is arriving now.Image: ALTAFFER/AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK Remember #DeleteUber? So much has happened since people complained about Uber CEO … err rather … former CEO Travis Kalanick being on President Donald Trump’s advisory council and Uber stopping surge pricing during Trump’s travel ban. It’s like we can’t go a day without Uber-related drama. SEE ALSO: Uber at war: Major investor sues cofounder Travis Kalanick for fraud Case in point: On Friday, a group of Uber shareholders requested via a strongly worded email that venture capital firm Benchmark step down from Uber’s board of directors. That news arrived just a day after […]
New ad claims Airbnb is good for terrorists
Image: Jeff Blackler/REX/Shutterstock The hotel industry is holding nothing back in its war against Airbnb. The Hotel Association of New York City has released an advertisement that ties Airbnb to terrorism, using the recent Manchester bombing to associate the rental business with ways for terrorists to find housing. Airbnb did not harbor any of the suspects around the bombing, though the company had initially been connected to an apartment that had been raided by police. That apartment turned out not to be an Airbnb, but rather a private room booked through another company. Still, the ad uses the Manchester bombing […]
Airbnb deletes accounts of neo-Nazis ahead of ‘Unite The Right’ rally
Airbnb is actively deleting people from the site.Image: JENS KALAENE/PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA/AP IMAGES Airbnb isn’t letting neo-Nazis take advantage of its services, Gizmodo reported early Monday. SEE ALSO: What is an Airbnb ‘superhost’ exactly? It has to do with hospitality, not safety The home-sharing platform has deleted the accounts of suspected attendees of the United The Right, an event to be held in Charlottesville, Virginia this Saturday. The event is being organized by The Daily Stormer, a racist website. Gizmodo cited tweets about the issue that included screenshots of emails from Airbnb about the user’s account being in “violation of our Terms […]
Marijuana company plans to build a ganja paradise in middle of nowhere California
A stoner hotspot is in the works in California.Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Looks like there’ll soon be a Vegas-like destination in a remote part of California, designed just for pot lovers. American Green Inc., a marijuana tech-based firm and self proclaimed “seed to sale” innovator from Arizona just bought a small California town called Nipton last Thursday. Yes, you read that right: a whole town. SEE ALSO: Public transit systems are rapping about weed on Twitter because California According to a report from Business Insider, the company coughed up around $5 million for the small town that spans 120 acres […]
Lawsuit over sexual assault calls for Airbnb to clarify what exactly a ‘superhost’ is
The domain of the superhost.Image: Jeff Blackler/REX/Shutterstock A lawsuit in California this week claimed that Airbnb creates a “false sense of security” for its customersand one way it does that, the lawsuit contends, is through its superhosts. The woman who filed the lawsuit, Leslie Lapayowker, said she was sexually assaulted by a Los Angeles Airbnb host. As part of the lawsuit, she noted that her host was a “superhost”a designation granted by Airbnb to denote the very best of what the home-rental platform has to offer. “Thats why, she said, she was not concerned with booking the Los Angeles residence […]
Uber decides to stop competing in Russia, merges business with Yandex
Yandex only.Image: Shutterstock / Mikhail Leonov Like the rest of us, Uber doesn’t want to spend too much more time thinking about Russia. The ride-hailing giant is combining its business with Russia’s Yandex to form a new company in eastern Europe valued at $3.7 billion, Uber announced Thursday. Uber is tossing in $225 million for the new company and hold on to 36.6 percent ownership. Yandex will contribute $100 million and get 59.3 percent, meaning it will control the company but have plenty of coordination with Uber. The deal is similar to Uber’s approach in China last year. In August […]
Uber faces another hit in a legal suit in France
Image: MARY ALTAFFER/AP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK July isn’t looking so bright for Uber. The ride-hailing giant, which has faced an onslaught of scandals since January, was just hit with another blow that could severely impact its growth in Europe. A new recommendation from the senior adviser to the European Union’s highest court says Uber should be classified as a taxi service in France, the New York Times reported Tuesday. SEE ALSO: This one number shows how powerful Uber still is around the world That ruling, if it comes to be, would subject Uber to more rules related to safety and employment. In good […]
Get a free protein bar or Altoids in your Uber with new startup Cargo
Get some Altoids in your Uber.Image: cargo Anyone who’s been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an Uber probably could have used a pair of headphones or an Altoid at some point. Cargo is a new startup that promises to provide those random items you’d be happy to have mid-ride and, more importantly, offer another source of income for ride-hailing drivers. SEE ALSO: A top advocate for women in tech shares 5 ways companies can learn from Uber’s mistakes Cargo partners with brands to put candy, protein bars, tampons, and condoms in a case that sits within reach of passengers. The […]