Don't let a 'minpaku' bad apple ruin your travel experience

Crimes committed against guests at minpaku -- private homes used to accommodate travelers -- are on the rise. Nikkan Gendai (July 22) reported that on July 13, an unemployed 73-year old man in Niigata Prefecture was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in his home. The girl had arranged to stay in the man's house as part of a "farm visit tour."

Meanwhile, on July 16, a 34-year-old man in Fukuoka rented out his one-room condo to a 31-year-old female traveler from South Korea. He offered her a welcoming drink, telling her that he was "studying Korean," and after imbibing two, she lost consciousness. "We believe he planned it that way from the beginning," a police source was quoted as saying. The man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated rape.

The victim had arranged for her accommodations via Airbnb, and Nikkan Gendai is of the opinion that it's something that could happen to anyone who makes use of an online hospitality broker. Assault is by no means the only crime. The digital version of Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that when a Korean couple in their 20s stayed over at a different Fukuoka minpaku at the end of June, they discovered a camera had been hidden in the ceiling's smoke detector.

According to the public hygiene department of Fukuoka City, at the end of March, 68 locations were registered with the city as residences offering basic lodgings, as minpaku are termed in bureaucratese. Contrast that figure with Airbnb offerings in the same town, which number upwards of 1,500.

According to Airbnb, the number of users in Japan during 2016 grew 2.7-fold, surpassing 3.7 million, and the Japan Tourism Agency, business magazine Keizaikai (July) reported, is flummoxed by the mismatch in data that suggests the numbers of foreign arrivals being accommodated is not increasing, despite sharp growth in numbers of foreign visitors.

With hotels in major cities demanding higher room rates, it's clear that more foreign visitors are going online to seek cheaper accommodations, and Japan's national and local governments are engaged in a game of "hide-and-seek" to obtain a grasp of actual conditions.

"There are believed to be over 40,000 minpaku locations now in Japan," a source in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare tells Nikkan Gendai. "About 90% of these operate without permission."

Travel writer Akino Watanabe says the most basic thing to do before requesting accommodations at a minpaku is to read the posted comments and evaluation of the host. She adds it's also a good idea to search other sources, such as Facebook and social networking sites, to read up on the host. "This makes no difference in Japan or elsewhere," she says.

"Look for comments about conscientious providing if hospitality; it's also a good sign when you see bright, happy photos of the guest posed together with a host and his or her family."

Watanabe says at present, local governments are lagging in grasping data about violators, so the only practical way to weed out the bad apples is to take added precautions, such as relying on word-of-mouth and via SNS.

Watanabe's advice is when uncertain about the quality and safety of a minpaku, it's best to turn to such legal alternatives as hostels, guest houses and minshuku (lodgings in private homes) -- along with bed and breakfast establishments when traveling abroad.

Editor's Note:

Statement from Nick Shapiro, Global Head of Trust and Risk Management for Airbnb in reference to Fukuoka incident reported in story.

Abhorrent behaviour that undermines the safety of our community has no place on our platform and won't be tolerated. We are re-investigating the matter as a priority and offering the guest our full support in any way we can. Negative Incidents like this are extremely rare, but even so, we’re constantly working to improve our platform, our policies, and our protections, to ensure the safety of the Airbnb community -- the single most important thing we work on every day.

© Japan Today