I started my day today by reading this very raw account of a son's loss of his father due to an unfortunate accident during an Airbnb visit. 

The NYT also followed up on the story and the NYT author, Ron Lieber, questions the liability issue - who is responsible? Airbnb?  The homeowner? The guest? The insurance companies? Regards of who holds responsibility, it saddens me to know that this type of account is needed to make the public aware that more needs to be done with trust and safety in the sharing economy. At Vijilent, we've been talking to many sharing economy companies that match strangers through peer-2-peer networks. These companies continually confirm that they have trust and safety covered. But do they? Does having insurance to cover losses, whether they are heart wrenching as the loss of a father, or just the loss of material goods in the home as was my case, good enough? At Vijilent, we want to make sure that you have confidence that the company you are booking a home stay, or a car rental, or a caregiver has your back covered. In the New Year our resolution is to conduct a thorough analysis to evaluate these policies and let you know how really does have your back.  Stay tuned…