Airbnb

You are agreeing to resolve disputes with Airbnb through individual arbitration and waive your right to join class action lawsuits.

“Section 23 of these Terms contains an arbitration agreement and class action waiver that apply to all claims brought against Airbnb in the United States. Please read them carefully. ... You and Airbnb mutually agree that any dispute... will be settled by binding arbitration on an individual basis...”

What that means: You give up your right to a trial in court and cannot participate in class action lawsuits against Airbnb.

For users in the United States, all disputes with Airbnb must be resolved through binding individual arbitration. This means you cannot sue Airbnb in court or join a class action lawsuit.

You are agreeing to waive your right to a jury trial in any dispute with Airbnb.

“PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE THAT YOU AND AIRBNB AGREE TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN US THROUGH BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND INCLUDE A CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER.”

What that means: You give up your right to have a jury hear your case if you have a dispute with Airbnb.

For US users, the dispute resolution clause specifically includes a waiver of your right to a jury trial.

You are agreeing to grant Airbnb a broad and perpetual license to use your content, including photos and text, for their business and promotional activities.

“By providing Content, in whatever form and through whatever means, you grant Airbnb a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, sub-licensable and transferable license to access, use, store, copy, modify, prepare derivative works of, distribute, publish, transmit, stream, broadcast, and otherwise exploit, in any manner such that Content to provide and/or promote the Airbnb Platform, in any media or platform, known or unknown to date and in particular on Internet and social networks.”

What that means: Airbnb can use your uploaded content, such as photos of your listing or reviews, for its own promotional purposes indefinitely and worldwide, even if you delete your account.

When you upload content like photos or text, you give Airbnb a very broad, perpetual, worldwide, and sublicensable license to use it for any purpose related to providing or promoting the platform, including on social networks.

You are agreeing that Airbnb's liability for any damages you incur from using their service is extremely limited, often to the amount you paid them.

“Neither Airbnb (including its affiliates and personnel) nor any other party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the Airbnb Platform or any Content will be liable for any incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages, including lost profits, loss of data or loss of goodwill... Except for our obligation to transmit payments to Hosts under these Terms... in no event will Airbnb’s aggregate liability for any claim or dispute... exceed: (A) to Guests, the amount you paid as a Guest during the 12-month period prior to the event giving rise to the liability, (B) to Hosts, the amount paid to you as a Host in the 12-month period prior to the event giving rise to the liability, or (C) to anyone else, one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100).”

What that means: If you suffer significant losses or injuries due to Airbnb's service or a problem on the platform, Airbnb's financial responsibility to you will be very limited.

Airbnb severely limits its liability for damages, including lost profits, data loss, or personal injury. For guests, the maximum liability is limited to the amount paid in the prior 12 months, and for others, it's capped at $100.

You are agreeing to defend and pay for Airbnb's legal expenses and damages for claims related to your use of the service, even if Airbnb was negligent.

“To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to release, defend (at Airbnb’s option), indemnify, and hold Airbnb (including Airbnb Payments, other affiliates, and their personnel) harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses... arising out of or in any way connected with: (i) your breach of these Terms... (iii) your interaction with any Member, stay at an Accommodation, participation in a Service, Experience, or other Host Service, including without limitation any injuries, losses or damages... (v) your breach of any laws, regulations or third party rights... You agree to indemnify and hold Airbnb... harmless... regardless of Airbnb’s responsibility for negligence and howsoever the same may be caused.”

What that means: You could be held financially responsible for legal costs and damages incurred by Airbnb, even if Airbnb was partially at fault, making you bear a significant portion of the risk.

You agree to protect and pay for Airbnb's legal costs and damages if claims arise from your actions, your interaction with other members, or even your stay at an accommodation, regardless of Airbnb's own negligence.

You are agreeing that Airbnb can change these terms, and your continued use of the service after a change means you accept the new terms.

“Airbnb may modify these Terms at any time. ... We will also provide you with notice of any material changes ... at least 30 days before the date they become effective. ... If you do not terminate your agreement before the date the revised Terms become effective, your continued access to or use of the Airbnb Platform will constitute acceptance of the revised Terms.”

What that means: Airbnb can alter the terms governing your use of the service, and your continued use implies consent to these changes, even if they are significant.

Airbnb can change these terms at any time with 30 days' notice for material changes. If you continue using the platform after the changes take effect, you are considered to have accepted them.

You are agreeing that if your account is terminated, you lose your content and may be barred from using Airbnb again.

“When this agreement has been terminated, you are not entitled to a restoration of your account or any of your Content. If your access to or use of the Airbnb Platform has been limited, or your Airbnb account has been suspended, or this agreement has been terminated by us, you may not register a new account or access or use the Airbnb Platform through an account of another Member.”

What that means: If Airbnb terminates your account, you lose your content and may be permanently banned from using the service.

If your account is terminated, you lose access to your account and content, and you might not be allowed to create a new account or use the platform through someone else's account.

You are agreeing that Airbnb provides its service “as is” and makes no warranties about its quality or fitness for a particular purpose.

“The Airbnb Platform and all Content are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind and Airbnb (or its affiliates) disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied.”

What that means: You cannot rely on any implied promises or guarantees about the platform's functionality or reliability, and Airbnb is not responsible if things don't work as expected.

Airbnb provides its platform and all content “as is,” meaning it disclaims all warranties, both stated and unstated. This limits Airbnb's responsibility for the service's quality or performance.

You are agreeing to authorize Airbnb to perform identity and background checks on you, using various public and third-party data sources.

“For United States users... you authorize Airbnb to undertake checks designed to help verify your identity or review your background, and consent that Airbnb may screen you against and obtain reports from service providers, third-party databases, or other sources including public records of criminal convictions or sex offender registrations or their local equivalents.”

What that means: Airbnb can delve into your background and identity using various databases and public records without a specific, stated incident, which could impact your ability to use the platform.

For US users, you authorize Airbnb to perform identity and background checks, including screening against public records like criminal convictions or sex offender registrations, using third-party services.

You are agreeing that Airbnb can monitor and review your communications and activities on their platform, including messages and phone calls.

“You acknowledge that Airbnb (or its affiliates) has the right, but does not have any obligation, to monitor the use of the Airbnb Platform and verify information provided by our Members. For example, we may record, review, monitor, disable access to, remove, or edit text or in-app messages, phone recordings, or other Content to: (i) operate, secure and improve the Airbnb Platform (including for fraud prevention, risk assessment, investigation and customer support purposes); (ii) ensure Members’ compliance with these Terms; (iii) comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, law enforcement or other administrative agency or governmental body; (iv) address Content that we determine is harmful or objectionable; (v) take actions set out in these Terms; and (vi) maintain and enforce any quality or eligibility criteria, including by removing Listings that don’t meet quality and eligibility criteria.”

What that means: Your communications and activities on the platform, including private messages and phone calls made through the service, can be monitored and reviewed by Airbnb.

Airbnb has the right to monitor your use of the platform, including recording and reviewing messages and phone calls, for various reasons like fraud prevention, compliance, and law enforcement requests.