Airbnb inclusivity

[Anonymous]

"Here are the keys to my house. You have a room to yourself, you can come and go at your leisure, my personal life is fully on display to you, and you can join my family in our shared space whenever you wish to have company. Here's a leash if you'd like my dog to walk you to the best park."

That is the default orientation that a typical homestay host like myself offers. Not because we're trying to adhere to some notion of "inclusivity" concocted by a boardroom full of newly minted billionaire white men in San Francisco, but because we care about a humanistic tradition of hospitality that predates the corporate culture of superficial virtue-signaling by millennia.

We do this on the basis of far more trust than is even rational, considering the fact that our guests come through a listing service that deliberately withholds valuable information about the people we're letting into our homes, because it doesn't trust us to be "inclusive" on our own free will.

Apologies if this is outdated, but here is the panel of people who are trying to teach us a lesson in what it means to be inclusive:

I challenge every host to look back through the history of guests they've welcomed into their homes and find a group less diverse than this. Do these magical concepts of Inclusivity and Belonging not apply to the 67% male, overwhelmingly-white boardroom?

[Helen3]

Looks all white to me and I believe doesn't include anyone with disabilities either !!!! @Anonymous 

Airbnb is not alone as a business or public sector organisation sadly in preaching about inclusivity but not practicing it 

[Elaine701]

Regardless of what Airbnb's official stance is, we have always welcomed all guests, of any nationality, colour, political persuasion, or religious background, and have always done whatever we can to suit their particular needs.

They're people, not a flag or a political movement. And it's not fair, or in anyone's interests to judge them on that basis alone. 

Having said that, there are particular types of guests we prefer, and openly target them appropriately, but it has nothing to do with their ethnicity or nationality or religion. 

Practice what you preach. Others may not, but you have to look yourself in the mirror. 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie  Like Andrew, as a home-share host, welcome and inclusivity is inherent in sharing one's home. The word or concept of being inclusive and open to all guests with good intentions is something that has never entered my consciousness, it just is.

All these buzzwords of the millenial generation are quite frankly annoying.

And all a prospective guest has to do is look at the profile photos of my past guests on the review section to see black, white, Asian, male, female, young and old faces, if they are concerned about feeling "included".

[Dave52]

@Sarah977   Exactly.  The very framing of the question is super annoying.   What exactly are they implying?  Who would not promote inclusivity, whatever that means?? 

As @Anonymous points out, looks like airbnb's billionaires need to check their own inclusivity.....

Here's the deal, you book my place, your group gets to stay.  I do everything I can to make your stay enjoyable and meet or exceed your group's expectations.  In turn, you appreciate the opportunity to stay.  If issues arise, I take care of them immediately.  At the end of your stay, we part ways and you are happy to have stayed and I was happy to host you.  I made money, you got to stay at a great place for a great rate.  Simple.  

[Stephanie]

@Anonymous @Sarah977 @Dave52 

Good morning!

I've moved your replies from this topic to form a new topic as it whilst what you are discussing is completely valid and deserves the conversation, it's not entirely relevant to the question asked in the OP. 

Many thanks,

Stephanie

PS @Anonymous - please let me know what you would prefer the topic title to be and I'll be happy to edit it.

[Anonymous]

@Stephanie  I'm sorry that they made you do this, but I object to my response being used out of context as an opening topic.  This was not some kind of off-topic rant, it was a direct and detailed response to the question "what are you doing to promote inclusivity?"

I shouldn't have to name-check all the minorities I happen to belong to, ever, but let's take a moment to examine the irony that when Airbnb wants to initiate a discussion on promoting "inclusivity," they feel the need to deliberately exclude the commentary from the African-American contributor. 

I guess the stock-photo model in the illustration was welcome in that conversation because she has nothing to say?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Stephanie I found @Anonymous 's post bizarre until I read down here and discovered it had moved. I do hope Andrew changes the title so that others do not think he has lost the plot!

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie  Well, I don't think Andrew would ever have started a topic using these fluff words, and moving this without asking any of us who replied, so that the responses now appear to be to what Andrew wrote, instead of what you wrote, is quite weird.

You say that what we were discussing wasn't entirely relevant to the question asked. 

What seemed wholly irrelevant to "inclusivity" were the examples you gave in your OP- what does answering messages promptly or making sure the listing description is accurate have to do with making people feel "included"? Those things just seem like part of a host's job description.

I struggle to see the connection with "inclusivity".

[Sarah977]

P.S. If Airbnb fixed its abysmal customer service issues and its shamefully ongoing technical issues, hosts might be more interested in participating in these fluffy feel-good topics.

In the absence of the will to do that, a topic like "inclusivity" just seems like diversionary tactics designed to counter all the posts here where both hosts and guests are experiencing real, frustrating and angering situations with the way Airbnb carries on its business.

[Nathalie-Et-Gilles0]

@Anonymous 

What are you complaining about?
There are ... women!

[Dale711]

Salut @Anonymous ,

What is your motivation of this topic?

......... “ White” ?

@Helen3 ,@Sarah977 ,

I’m not surprised you’re following the proposal    

[Anonymous]

@Dale711  The post was originally in response to this post:  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-do-you-ensure-guests-feel-welcome-and-promote-inclus...

It was moved into a new topic without my consent.

[Dale711]

Salut @Anonymous,

In your thoughts,  what are the board directors  exactly represent of?
and related to your post?   

[Dave52]

@Anonymous  I see what they did there, moving your post out of thread thus taking your reasonable reply completely out of context. 

Now I know why I spend zero time on social media. I'll spend less going forward.