Airbnb argues that the inappropriate response stemmed largely from a policy conflict. The firm always wants to report crimes in progress, but it also wants sexual assault victims to report attacks when they're comfortable with the idea. In this situation, an indirect call was bound to create a problem -- especially when the mother called a second time to report the assault after the fact. From now on, an in-progress emergency always takes priority.

The company says that it "can learn a lot" from what happened and vows to do better. While that's likely going to happen, the assault underscores how Airbnb's safeguards are minimal compared to the conventional hospitality business. Many hotels not only have dedicated security teams, but will send security to check on guests the moment someone reports a concern. Even with the smarter policy in place, there's only so much services like Airbnb can do if things go horribly awry.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz]