Two weeks ago, we announced donations to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter foundation, and we shared antiracism resources with our hosts and guests. But these are just some of the actions we’ve taken. Another project we’ve been working on is one that will allow us to better understand and address racism and bias on Airbnb.
Project Lighthouse is a groundbreaking initiative we’re launching in the United States to uncover, measure, and overcome discrimination when booking or hosting on Airbnb.
Built to uncover discrimination
- Discrimination is based on perception—and on Airbnb, people perceive race from things like first names and profile photos. Together, with civil rights organizations like Color Of Change and Upturn, we're beginning with research to understand when and where racial discrimination happens on our platform and the effectiveness of policies that fight it.
Designed with privacy in mind
- We worked with leading privacy organizations like the Center for Democracy & Technology to understand the best methods for privacy protection so we make sure you're protected. We analyze trends in bulk, and Airbnb won’t associate perceived race information with specific accounts.
We’ll reach out with more details by June 30, and while anyone will be able to opt out, we’ve made it effortless to take part. If you’re a U.S.-based host or guest who has not opted out, we may randomly select your profile photo and first name to gather insights.
We want you to know that as our team developed this project, we repeatedly sought feedback from the host community—we appreciate your thoughts on such an important topic.
We’ll follow up with more details, but in the meantime, we’re answering your questions in this Resource Center article about how the process works, how we’ll respect the privacy of participants, and more.
As always, thank you for being a host and for working with us to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.
Learn more about Project Lighthouse
