News and notes from around the interweb:
- The pregnant Airbnb host left homeless and with $300,000 in bills after Airbnb failed to live up to its insurance commitments got compensation after going viral.
- A hotel safe that anyone can open without your code.
@leo..lenier Watch this …#4u #parati #paravc #pourvous #trick #hotelsafe #usa #tiktok #viral #gettoknowme #code ♬ original sound – Leo. Lenier - Reminder: Europe is poor.
@thestrawberryannie This list is mostly based off of the 3 weeks trip I spent in southern Spain, southern France, and Italy last month. Not every single city or every establishment was like this, but this is what we found to be common. We still love visiting European countries, but I sure do appreciate the Bucees bathrooms in the United States of America #europe #america #thingsidontlikeabouteurope #travel #vacation #trip #spain #italy #france ♬ original sound – Annie - Important Rob Lieber piece in the New York Times, Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts: Surprised individuals and small-business owners can’t pay rent or make payroll, and no one ever explains what they did wrong.
It tells the stories of individual account closures which are maddening. But just scratches the surface on systemic issues. Anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer rules create obligations for banks, but don’t spell out how they must comply. Banks need to develop systems and theories for their compliance, and the uncertainty also allows regulators to pressure banks not to do certain kinds of business even though that business is legal.
- The most tightly choreographed road in Colorado is a 3-mile stretch of Peña Boulevard by the Denver airport.
These are expectations of an entitled American.
Not necessarily any indication that Europe is poor.
She should just stay and vacation in America.
That girl expecting free continental breakfasts shows that she’s never stayed anywhere better than a Residence Inn.
@strawberryannie reeks of the entitlement that many Europeans especially loathe about Americans travelling abroad. Annie, I hear the Redneck Riviera is nice this time of year.
@Norita/Scudder/aaway There are plenty of nice places to vacation in America. I would be fine staying in America for vacation. /Lower prices hotels are fine with as long as they are clean. I could spend $300+ on something other than a room when I will be out of it sightseeing most of the day./This “Redneck” is fine with the “Redneck Riviera” if that’s the Gulf of Mexico. You got beautiful scenery, nice hotels and good food. It doesn’t even have to be the Gulf. There are plenty of other good places to vacation in America. There’s a lot to see and not enough time.
*America is not a country. We have North America, Central America, and South America.
I definitely agree about the banks. It’s one of the myriad ways the government has found to bypass the concept of innocent until proven guilty. Pressure third parties to take action on suspicion and pretend everything is fine.
The Airbnb bit doesn’t surprise me, either. A customer will avoid insurance companies with sufficiently bad reputations but when it’s a third party choosing the insurance they have no reason to avoid the shadiest of outfits. I ran into it when hit by a Lyft driver–fault was clear, they ghosted me multiple times (had to file a complaint with the regulators.) I’m sure they were hoping to delay it past the statute of limitations. I found various reviews show it was very common.
America is far poorer. Have you tried the food outside of big cities? All poor quality processed stuff that’s cheap cheap cheap (and terrible for you) because the locals can’t afford fresh fruits and veggies.
Europe is poorer than North America. It is certainly not poor by world standards.