According to Airbnb spokesman Ben Breit, a number of safety tools exist to keep guests and hosts safe, including the option for hosts to require guests to provide a government ID before booking a listing, a risk-scoring system, and background checks. Even so, Santa Fe-based travel-advice site Asher & Lyric conducted a survey in 2017 of what was called “horror stories” from Airbnb properties. More than 1,000 incidents were researched, including everything from murders, rapes, and kidnappings associated with short-term rentals and sketchy hosts using secret cameras to spy on their guests.
