Discrimination (coronavirus)

[Joe2195]

Hello guys,

I recently booked Airbnb in Manhattan.

And the host of the place messaged me

'Just put a picture with a mask on'

I am very offended and still, I am.

The host sent me messages saying safety issues without any clear explanation. I asked what your concerns regarding safety. The host kept saying we have kids and four families. And the host asked me to upload my picture. I started feeling weird and uncomfortable but I just thought he/she may have some bad guests before. But after I uploaded my picture their response was

'Cool.. see you soon'

I thought something going on so I sent a message saying I'm from the states and then they replied

'Just put a picture with a mask on'

I told the host I'm getting uncomfortable and the host did not even apologize but said 'I'm kidding'

I messaged to Airbnb through 'Help' and their answer is basically like this.

'We will investigate this case so do you want to stay or not?'

I'm upset and don't know why I have to go through all these things. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Best,

Joe

[Sarah977]

@Joe2195  I'm sorry you were subjected to this. Some people just don't have any awareness that what they might think is funny may be totally offensive to others. Asking you to upload a real profile photo is pretty standard- most hosts want to see a photo of the guest so they know that the person who arrives is actually the person who booked, not for any reasons of discrimination. And when hosts are accepting total strangers into their homes, it just evidences a certain openness on the part of the guest to post a real photo.

But their follow up about the mask seems like something they just cluelessly thought was amusing (which of course isn't) rather than an intention to be prejudiced, since they said "Cool, see you soon", after they saw your photo.

I'm not sure what advice you're seeking here- you already contacted Airbnb about it, now they are asking if you want to follow through with this booking. Only you can decide if you want to stay with these hosts or not or look for another place. And I'm sure Airbnb will follow up on this with the host- they take accusations of discrimination quite seriously.