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Apologies if this is outdated, but here is the panel of people who are trying to teach us a lesson in what it means to be inclusive: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

[Melodie-And-John0]

As usual, short sweet and solid @Fred13 , a well stated noticement of the fact that those of us with light skin are not immune from being discriminated against as "not like us", I experienced that daily with beatings from my schoolmates that were mostly overlooked by the faculty most of my first 10 years in school in a rural podunk district, because my folks were city folk born and raised.   I bet beatdowns dont feel any different if your light, dark, Jewish or Christian if you live in places that dont accept you for some reason or another!   

[Christine615]

I'm with you @Anonymous 

The point of your post is not lost on me. The photos of the management is a sad testament to how little Brian really gets about being inclusive.

[Melodie-And-John0]

True @Christine615 , the only thing worse than having an Airbnb board of Directors without a mix of skin tones on it is one that does yet can't relate to the situations their hosts are confronted with like the ones you have brought up in the past that are scary and not desirable.   I suppose the new visually and culturally diverse Host Advisory Board is intended to cross those lines by not necessarily just hiring fortune 500 chumps actors and famous athletes to the board of Directors that are to decide what needs what and where.   Thats yet to prove out yet and I'm not holding my breath, my last interaction with the CS shop was very bad and only a couple days ago, no change there! 

@Ute42 's insights about the lawsuit  probably would have been nice to hear from Airbnb instead of cloaking possible guests are their proactive way of being more inclusive-  fake news, it was a way of not being sued.  I can live with that legal reason even if I diagree with the magistrate that handed it down not thinking about how it affected people that were not hotels with staff and security.  They still need to come up with better ways to protect hosts and guests not just guests.     

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Anonymous 

Just another example of Airbnb not practicing what they preach.... and having double standards. Asian representation is non-existent and for the most part, many people don't even acknowledge or accept that there is discrimination against Asians. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

I did notice that as well @Jessica-and-Henry0 , one would think that even by mistake or chance, the board run by the EIIC, (Equitable Incluser In Chief ) wouldn't resemble a remake of Beverly Hills, 90210 right?  Wonder what the gateway to one of the largest Airbnb Lodging economies in the world Secretary Xi thinks about that?  It kinda feels like a gently aged Cali surfer club look at the moment although Im sure they are all very fine folks.   Someone neads to tell them to get their house i order before they start looking in mine.  Stay well, JR

[Sarah977]

@Melodie-And-John0  "It kinda feels like a gently aged Cali surfer club look at the moment..."

Haha and sadly true. Not only a Cali surfer club but a very well-off one, too. 

While I realize that they need to hire people with a proven track record, all of the "Key people" in that screenshot have big corporate backgrounds. Amazon, Disney, Google. Surely there are qualified people out there who are just everyday folk who could fill these positions. For instance, "Head of hosting" should be an actual experienced host, rather than a former Disney theme parks executive.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977 , Heres my thoughts about that, if you want the most qualified diversity candidates, you need to pay them like they are or your not going to get the best.   The University I work has that going on, the folks we should be hiring are going to the Ivy league's that will pay them  like they are the best.   Its not the plumbers or secretaries that have a problem paying more for better, its the faculty that dont want us to be treated equal to them but will require equal pay and benefits for diversity candidates.   That pay level isnt good enough to get the best to come to a little Podunk rural community where they will have a tough time getting a good hair style or practice their religion.  Our University has been known for only hiring the best Faculty for over 200 years but this toothless diversity policy isnt getting us the best, they want to get paid what they are worth and we wont do that, I cant argue with that logic.    

[Anonymous]

@Melodie-And-John0  I can only speak for myself here, but I earned my qualifications not for bigger paychecks but for the freedom to live the best life I could imagine. There's no amount of money an employer could pay me to relocate to a Podunk town and have colleagues that perceive me as a "diversity candidate" rather than as their equal. 

It strikes me that a corporate office in San Francisco would not have a problem like that - cosmopolitan cities will always attract a diverse mix. If only a certain "type" of candidate is advancing in the workplace in San Francisco, it's clearly the workplace that is the problem.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous, unfortunately, so many folks have so much debt by the time they receive their PHD that Diversity candidate or not, it is imperative they earn the most they are capable of.   I dont blame them, credentials are the commodity they have and you can only sell yourself once at a time.    We have been able to attract folks that feel like you do about boondocking with greater startup dollars and competitive  income offerings in the past and many end up being some of our greatest promoters in the end but were trying to attract specific demographically strong folks en mass with very little special enticements offered and its not having the desirable outcome, the most qualified either dont accept it or  realize they are going to be ham-stringed by the same dynamics that brought them there to begin with and wont consider it past the interview.