Woman Sues Airbnb Over Alleged Sexual Assault By Host
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A Santa Fe woman is suing San Francisco-based Airbnb on a claim she was sexually assaulted by her host.
Leslie Lapayoker said she booked a room in Los Angeles through Airbnb in July of last year.
Her lawyer, Teresa Li, said Airbnb had listed the man from whom Lapayoker rented the room as a "superhost."
But according to Lapayoker's claim, the man made suggestive comments when she checked in, then later locked her in a room, pushed her into a chair, pulled down his pants and started masturbating.
Li said Airbnb needs to do a better job when it comes to screening its hosts.
"Airbnb either failed to do a background check or did a background check but did not disclose that this person or the landlord who stayed at the same house had a domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend just a few years prior," Li said. "And Airbnb created a false sense of security on its website."
Airbnb said it immediately removed the host from its site, and that it was outraged to learn of Lapayoker's claims.
Company officials said they do run basic background checks on hosts via public records, and has policies and standards it follows.