In addition to fines, 13.1 billion won in compensation will be paid to victims.
Court “We found many cases of damage, even though it was not intentional.”
An Australian court determined that Airbnb caused damage to consumers by not specifying the payment currency and imposed a fine of 15 million Australian dollars (about 13.1 billion won) on Airbnb.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 20th (local time), the Australian Federal Court found that ‘Airbnb’, a famous accommodation reservation platform, ‘misled’ a total of 63,000 customers from January 2018 to August 2021. I admitted to using an expression with .
The media reported that the price was displayed in ‘dollars ($)’ in the payment window, so consumers who naturally thought it was Australian dollars proceeded with the payment, but in reality, the payment was made in US dollars, causing damage one after another.
Based on the international exchange rate on the 21st, 1 Australian dollar is equivalent to 0.67 US dollars. Since the value of the Australian dollar is lower than the US dollar, the consumer paid a larger amount. According to the court ruling, some of the affected customers paid fees to the bank for payments made in U.S. dollars.
Judge Brandon McElwain explained, “Airbnb did not intentionally create a misunderstanding,” and “the bug occurred due to a system error.”
“Consumers have been deprived of the opportunity to receive accurate price information,” said Gina Kasgottilip, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
In addition to a fine of about 13.1 billion won, Airbnb decided to pay up to 15 million Australian dollars (about 13.1 billion won) in compensation for 70,000 reservations.
According to the ACCC, Airbnb plans to contact victims with compensation payments by February 5, 2024.
Susan Wilden, Airbnb Australia manager, issued a statement saying, “We have modified the dollar denomination since the issue was raised and we regret any damage caused.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.