Is a female host able to refuse to host local men only

[Vanessa1511]

Hi, I'm a female host new to Airbnb. I live in Egypt and am wanting to host guests in a private room in my home. My question is, as I live in Egypt, am I able to refuse to host local men only. In Egypt it is not really acceptable for unrelated men and women to live together, exceptions are made for foreigners of course. I don't have an issue hosting foreign men, but hosting an Egyptian man in my home would be completely unacceptable. I know they have an anti-discrimination policy that states that female hosts can refuse to host men if they share common areas - I want to exclude specifically local men. Is this acceptable?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Vanessa1511 I suggest you just exclude men wherever they are from. Frankly anything less is a bit weird.

[Vanessa1511]

Why is it weird?

[Linda108]

I agree it is easier to exclude all men and advertise as such than to indicate you only exclude local men, even though you are just fitting into local custom.  However, I wonder if your listing has appeal to traveling women or if it is best suited to a longer term guest.  As a foreign national yourself, you are in a better position to know about other single women who seek short term accommodations.  On this platform, it might be a good idea to include "women only" in your listing title as well.  I am confused by your pictures which appear to show 2 beds in a room where only a single guest is allowed.  Good luck!

[Vanessa1511]

Yes, the guest room is furnished with two single beds.  I've pushed them together to make one big bed.

Yeh, I did have some people through to view the room. They did see the two single beds and thought two people. One woman wanted to bring her mother with her, another wanted to bring her best friend and share the room for the same price. 

I don't really want to host couples or more than one guest for an extended period of time, because it's only a small apartment and space.  3 people in this space would just be too much. 

[Brian2036]

@Vanessa1511 

I can see your dilemma but I don’t know how you can exclude a sub-group of men without being accused of discrimination.

 I would also be uneasy about my reputation in the community if single men were known to stay overnight.

Although Egypt is arguably the most liberal country in that area there could still be serious consequences even if your male guests were foreign tourists.

[Vanessa1511]

There's no issue with hosting male guests with foreign passports. I just had a Taiwanese guy come. He was lovely and Egypt is not liberal at all. It's incredibly conservative. 

Actually, the discrimination policy says that if you are sharing common spaces such as a bathroom with your guests you are able to exclude members of the opposite sex.

I'm just wondering if there is further clarification on this policy and how it applies in conservative countries. 

[Sarah977]

@Vanessa1511  I don't think there are any different rules for different countries as far as stating the gender you accept. And it doesn't matter whether you share your bathroom, kitchen, hallway, whatever, with guests, as a host who shares living space with guests, you can state that you only host females.

I don't think Brian was putting forth the notion that Egypt is liberal- he said "for the area". In other words, it's more liberal than countries where women have to be covered from head to toe in public, including their entire face, only having a little screened slit to see out of. 

[Katrina79]

@Vanessa1511  I willing to bet that the laws in the host’s country (in your case Egypt) override policy. In the absence of laws stating no woman may host a local man (or something to that extent) than Air policy would be applicable. It is reasonable for you to deny hosting such a guest for fear of safety. I see two options:

1) do not allow Instant Book and then you may decide which reservation you will accept.

2) do not host males

I think this would be best to contact someone directly at Airbnb to clarify. 
The drawback with option one-declining all requests from local males, is that you can be penalized from declining too many requests. 
The drawback with option two-do not host males is tricky. You have to put in an additional rule specifying which gender is allowed to stay. If the wrong gender books you may qualify for a free cancellation. Be careful with the free cancellation though, it may be limited to 3 per year and you are required to have instant book on. 

I would contact Airbnb to find out more. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1807/can-i-choose-to-only-host-people-of-my-own-gender

[Sarah977]

@Vanessa1511  I don't think you can make this distinction re local vs. foreign men.

Just list it for females only. There are plenty of women who travel alone, who will be drawn to a place where they can feel safe with a single female host.

You have my sympathies re cultural norms that dictate that a person can't decide for themselves whether they feel comfortable hosting either gender. I would find that very frustrating.

[Brian2036]

@Vanessa1511 @Sarah977 

Airbnb is an American corporation and their policy is that which is put forth by the US government:

You may not discriminate against anyone based on race, color, creed, or national origin.

They do not make exceptions for residents of other countries.

Incidentally, you do not have to travel far from Egypt to find places where women who share their homes with unrelated men are dragged out into the streets, raped repeatedly, and stoned to death by the neighbors.

That’s conservative.

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  Conservative? I call it  insane and evil.

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 

I was trying to be polite….Unfortunately, in some places, even an unfounded rumor can be the basis for a death sentence.

Kind of like Airbnb CS when a guest makes an absurd accusation about a host.  😉

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036  Since when? 🙂

[Brian2036]

Ummm… since certain fanatics took control? Since the beginning of recorded history?

I know I’m going to catch a load of crap if I go into specifics, so I won’t. 

We wouldn’t want to offend anyone’s religious delusions.