Protests Riots and Black Lives Matter

[Stan-and-Jan0]

I am quite beside myself with disgust and disappointment that Airbnb would enter the fray of political turmoil by supporting an organization who's stated mission is not only a lie but as they demonstrate daily, the protests and ensuing riots one has to know that it's not about racial equality. I will get into a long diatribe here but I'll just say that every time I see BLM box on the website with a donate button, I have to wonder if anyone at Airbnb actually knows what BLM stands for and what their true mission is. Look at what's happening in Seattle right now. It's really quite disheartening.

Very little respect left for this company.

[Howard147]

You dared to criticize their Lefgt Wing virtue signaling.

[Anonymous]

Airbnb differentiates itself from its main competitors by using emotional branding. The success of that is evident in the fact that people have such big feelings about which causes the brand claims to support, and get their knickers in a twist over a rather small donation. 

Now, if you're really beside yourself with disgust and disappointment with a company's messaging, one effective way to communicate that would be to stop using its product and putting more money in its coffers. But don't fool yourself here: when you instead choose to use that company's own community platform to air your feelings, you're only increasing your degree of brand engagement. Therefore, the message received by Airbnb is that their emotional branding - including their choice of sociopolitical causes to associate with - has been a resounding success. 

[Terri129]

Absurd.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous , Its easier for me to be less concerned about associated Airbnb causes cause Airbnb isnt my brand per-se, just a company that refers business my way for a cost.  Ive been called the "R" word and I have to admit it for the world to see, yes I am a Republican (Conservative to be exact) and Im not ashamed either!!!!!!   It can be a bit tough to be one and always be excited about some of the POV's espoused here, I have however learned from lots of folks in my life that don't see things the way I do.  If they go beyond my moral and ethical bounds too far, I will find other ways to fill Bearpath Lodging to be sure. 

I do agree with @Fred13 about the wish for a place that adult conversations between adult hosts of all persuasions could be had cause there are valid hosting topics that have some not perfectly PC points of view that are very relevant and timely.  Thats probably not gonna happen here and unfortunately I really dont have the time to search out a place where it will happen with the business relevance I love about this site.  So I will keep it Political Lite here (Same great taste, less filling....) for the sake of keeping the conversation alive for those a bit more sensitive than this battle hardened prognosticator of brilliance.   After-all, Its  just not fair to thems that are not as prepared as I!  Just sayin.... Stay well, JR

[Anonymous]

@Melodie-And-John0  So you've come out as a Republican. Reminds me of the time Ricky Martin came out of the closet.

"Wow chico, we didn't even know you were in it!"

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous , "Berry Intewesting, But Schtupid", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia2tHDNGfT8 

Well its not like I went into the closet as something else, Ive been an "R" since The Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan saved my then young +rse from having to take a long and likely painful trip to Tehran with my Helmet and Machine Gun in 1980.    My point was that this forum can be a bit harsh on folks that aren't Airy Minded.  What Basic Training did to prepare me for a trip oversees, 26 years training in Liberal Arts Academia as an Electronics technician extraordinaire has done to ready me for this forum!   BTW, who is this Ricky Martin your talking about, any kin to Dick Martin from laugh in?  BTW, if you got that one, your really old...  Stay well, JR

[Melodie-And-John0]

So, the bad word minder on this forum kinda sux (Last I checked, everyone here was an adult) You can't write Dick Martin (famous comedian in the 80's from the famed Rowen and Martin Laugh in) cause its gonna put in a  Dick, how friggin stupid is that Benny Hill would roll over in his grave if he could see this Schize!    Richards everywhere should unite against this type of treatment.  They are being systematically erased and stigmatized for being Dicks and that ain't  bloody right, just sayin, nuff said!  JR

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Melodie-And-John0 ,

It's a profanity filter - I get a notification too and can address if it's erroneous like it is in this case. I've gone ahead and replaced the bleeps with the name. 

Side story on this, I once moderated a British community where they were talking about football teams. Every time someone mentioned Arsenal FC it was turned into **bleep**nal. 🙄

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Melodie-And-John0]

Thats funny schnitz right their @Stephanie !   You just can't make stuff up thats funnier than real life sometimes and darnit, we need some laughs and right now!!!!!  Stay well, JR

[Helen350]

Proof you CAN be Conservative & mellow! - Love it, @Melodie-And-John0 !

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Helen350 , yes I can!!!! and to add to that recipe, I'm likely the most Liberal Conservative one has ever met (also Tri-polar) !  Just don't call me a Centrist, I detest that word.  The correct, true and legitimate  answer to a moral and or ethical dilemma is rarely the monkey in the middle, that's just a chickens way out of taking a debatable position and will garner zero respect in this world or the political wild kingdom!!!!!!  They eat Centrist for breakfast!!!!!!!.    

[Stan-and-Jan0]

"Now, if you're really beside yourself with disgust and disappointment with a company's messaging, one effective way to communicate that would be to stop using its product and putting more money in its coffers." 

@Anonymous - Yes this is exactly the plan of action I am taking. I'm sure it's not just me as I know there many other Hosts and Guests that contribute to Airbnb's success who question why Airbnb would put such a stake in the ground. So therefore, Airbnb's decision to blatantly advertise for a cause that is so politically divisive and emotionally charged means they don't care about those of us who find it very offensive, anti-productive and dangerous. 

I use this community platform to express my opinions on this and many other matters hoping it will facilitate more thought about what is best for Hosts that have invested so much in this company only to find it drawing a line and picking sides in a very divisive social and political climate. Not a smart move IMHO.

[Anonymous]

@Stan-and-Jan0 Without getting into the merits of the cause itself, I can see the strategic benefits of choosing a hot-button cause. We have to put it into context: Airbnb suspended its marketing operations this year to save $800,000,000. So rather than doing conventional advertising, they're taking the "viral" approach. The measly $500,000 that they donated to the NAACP and BLM ultimately bought them millions worth of free press - every time a talking head on Fox News starts foaming at the mouth about Airbnb, they get their name mentioned on primetime TV, and the brand stays on people's minds. 

I don't entirely agree with the notion that "there's no such thing as bad publicity" - just ask Kevin Spacey's agent - but in this case that does seem to hold true. It's a bit of a gamble, but I think Airbnb can afford to lose the custom of people who share your views if in the process they acquire more relevancy to people who support this movement. And for what it's worth, they're not exactly an outlier here - companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Netflix have also taken similar stances (whether their actions as employers match their rhetoric is a whole other matter) and it doesn't seem to have hurt their business.

[Betty-and-Jeremy0]

I couldn't agree with you more Stan-and-Jan0.  Thank you for your courage, we need more of you good people to take a stand!

[Helen3]

I do like to see people who have the courage of their convictions @Stan-and-Jan0 . My feeling is that there will be a number of hosts who will be unhappy about any brand that supports BLM but not so much that they will stop putting money in that brand's pocket, whether it is as a host or a consumer.

Is it also going to affect you personally when you stop using other global brands that support BLM like Amazon, Apple etc or are they brands you wouldn't use anyway?