Mobile room finder Airbnb has built a global business turning people’s spare rooms into quick money makers, and it’s easy to see why. Personalized renter profiles, diverse global listings, and easy payment options are enticing millions of out-of-towners to sign up. But for Jacob Lopez, his Airbnb stay in Spain wasn’t the “unique travel experience” he was looking for, and has raised many questions about Airbnb’s safety policies.

The 19-year-old is alleging that on July 4 he was held captive and sexually assaulted by his Airbnb host, while staying in Madrid. However, the most shocking part of Lopez’s story is that the horrible encounter could have potentially been prevented had Airbnb employees responded more seriously to his mother’s desperate pleas for help.

Jacob Lopez’s @Airbnb horror story is a cautionary tale. http://t.co/iU0KksvIuG pic.twitter.com/nQYJE6qtwJ

— smh.com.au (@smh) August 16, 2015

According to the New York Times, Lopez sent  his mother, Micaela Giles, a series of messages begging for help after his host locked him in the fourth-floor apartment, cut off his internet access, and began “rattling knives in the kitchen” while pressuring him to engage in a sexual encounter. He says that his host, who was born male and living as a female, repeatedly tried to kiss him and ordered him to take off his pants unless he wanted to sleep in the streets without his belongings.

Giles immediately phoned Airbnb requesting help, but employees would not give her the address where her son was staying, or call the police. They did give her the number to the Madrid Police, telling her to have them call Airbnb and formally request the address, but the number only led her to a Spanish voicemail that kept disconnecting her. When she tried to call the Airbnb representative again, her calls went unanswered.

That night Lopez was eventually able to escape after persuading his host to free him, but not after first being sexually assaulted. When police finally questioned the host she denied threatening him and said that “the sex act was consensual and that he is transphobic.”

The Times wrote,

The Madrid police would not comment on the investigation, though his host said that they had already visited her and that she expected to be exonerated.

This story is both terrifying and cautionary, but how was it even able to happen? One would think that Airbnb would have a responsibility to its guests to ensure their safety, but in this case, conflicting polices reportedly prevented them from acting in an appropriate moral capacity. According to the same Times article,

On one hand, Airbnb wants sexual assault victims to be able to decide for themselves when, how or if to report a crime. On the other, the company wants to report crimes in progress when customers are in danger and will turn over information quickly if the police request it.

In this case, the Airbnb employees claimed that they didn’t know that they were being asked to help prevent a potential assault, as opposed to hearing about one that had already happened. That confusion led them to respond in the manner they did.

Airbnb execs are currently reviewing and updating the company’s safety procedures so that cases like this won’t happen again in the future, but that does little to help this victim. Lopez is now back in Massachusetts and undergoing trauma therapy, but this should serve as a serious wakeup call for Airbnb about their safety training.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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