Modern-day services still come with age-old problems - so Record360 is trying to help users of services such as Airbnb who have disputes with owners.
The idea behind the product is pretty simple: it's a mobile-based application which encourages users to make a detailed record of the product they are renting when they first get their hands on it.
The app encourages users to walk around the rental property, car or other activity-type vehicle (speedboat!), capturing video, images and noting any existing issues they find.
The app creates a time-stamped, geo-tagged record of the time of the exchange or inspection by the renter, then stores the clip and information in the cloud.
Record360, which is run by two former-Enterprise-Rent-A-Car executives, Shane Skinner (CEO) and Damon Haber (chief revenue officer), says the app can also be used on existing hotels or motels, but the motivation for its creation is to iron out problems that can arise as travellers turn to sharing economy-type services for their trips and activities.
Skinner says:
"In today’s sharing economy billions are lost each year in damages missed during the exchange of property, vehicles and equipment; and when renting houses/autos, etc, there is always the risk of damage disputes or liability for something you did not cause."
Perhaps one issue that may arise is that a third party service such as Record360 may still not be seen as a valid arbiter of a person's use of equipment or stay in a property.
An official tells Tnooz the founders at Record360 are working on getting the application certified by Airbnb to become "official" documentation.
"The key here (especially for Airbnb) is that most of these disputes are between the host and guest directly -- so it's not so much about submitting evidence to Airbnb themselves, but having a secure, date/time-stamped document that both host/guest agree on showing the property condition (a legal document by proxy).
"If the photos/videos are taken in the presence of both parties, it does act as a dispute resolution tool, because there is no way to argue what has been captured.
"The transparency of the act of recording in itself resolves a lot of disputes and clears the air when damage is done, but even if not, this is largely between host and guest. From that point, a dispute record could be shared with Airbnb themselves if required."